


White Blank Page

by AndreaLyn



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-03-24 20:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 23,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3783880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndreaLyn/pseuds/AndreaLyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve/Danny prompts for the 30 Day OTP Challenge.</p><p>Day 30 - Doing Something Hot</p><p>  <i>“Steve, look, I know sometimes you’re all about distance, but it’s been five years almost,” she says, hitching Joan into her arms. “Are you gonna make a move on the guy or what?”</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Wanna Hold Your Hand

**Author's Note:**

> I will be doing my damnedest to get a prompt up frequently, aiming to have them all in the vicinity of 500-1000 words a piece.
> 
> Day 28 - Doing Something Ridiculous  
> Day 29 - Doing Something Sweet  
> Day 30 - Doing Something Hot

It’s been over five days of the same situation, all fucked up.

Danny sits here beside the hospital bed with one hand reaching out and gripping Steve’s, nattering away at him like eventually he’ll piss the man off enough to force him to wake up. He knows that’s not how it works, but the doctors keep saying that coma patients can hear the people around them. It’s why he’s kept talking. It’s why he keeps holding on.

The only problem is that Steve is as stubborn as he ever was and Danny’s starting to feel like he’s holding onto some tenuous, limp ghost of Steve instead of the man himself. “What the hell have I said, huh?” Danny mutters weakly, all his anger having burned out days ago. “You run towards a bomb and one day you’re gonna get hit.”

It had been a trap set by their supposedly not-so-bright bad guys, which had taken out the warehouse _after_ Steve had shoved Danny out of the radius of the explosion. He hadn’t even had time to push back in and grab Steve out, too, hadn’t had time to yell at him over how stupid he’s being.

“And you shouldn’t, you know?” Danny snaps, feeling a second (well, technically, a fifty-third) wind sweep up under his words, carrying him forward with more anger than before. “I swear to god, Steve, there’s this thing you don’t seem to understand and that’s the part where you and I? We? We’re _partners_ and that’s supposed to mean something.” He exhales, twisting the way he’s gripping Steve’s hand. “That’s supposed to mean…” he mutters, softer than before as he slumps back in his chair and thinks about what he’s just said.

What’s it supposed to mean?

Maybe this is the light he’s supposed to see so Danny can figure out the path, but he doesn’t know how to follow it. He’s seen bits and pieces, fragments of this path. He knows that Steve helps him sleep, knows that Steve makes his life better, but Steve shouldn’t be pushing Danny out of harm’s way and not expecting him to want to do the same in turn.

Danny raises their joined hands to his lips, rubbing Steve’s knuckles back and forth over the stubble on Danny’s chin and cheeks, closing his eyes as he sags forward, aware now what it all means.

“Look, Steve,” Danny breathes out slowly. “I kind of need you to be here. Okay? I need you, babe.”

Danny only wishes that somewhere in his heartfelt plea, Steve would’ve heard enough to stop being so goddamn stubborn. He sighs and releases Steve’s hand eventually, when he feels like he’s shouting for no good reason. He reluctantly lets go of the hand, but not before he can give it one last kiss, edging away to go stand by the nurse’s station for his usual 6pm coffee break. In the last five days, he’s really gotten to know the staff here and vice-versa, which probably isn’t something that most people do. Most people don’t know the hospital staff this well because most people have partners and friends who don’t do the kind of stupid shit that McGarrett pulls.

“He wouldn’t want you to linger, you know,” one of the nurses says gently. “There’s a chance he might never wake up, you know.”

“Steve McGarrett?” Danny blusters to cover up the real fear he feels at the thought she’s shared, the one he’s thought a thousand times, himself. “If I thought it were that easy, I’d have knocked him out a few weeks after we met.” He tries not to think of Steve perpetually in that bed or a Steve different from the one he’s known for so long, but in the end, he needs to get back into that room to reassure himself.

He drifts back into the room, setting his cup of coffee on the nearest table, but when he reaches out to grasp Steve’s hand, it’s not in the same place as Danny had left it, which is weird, because unless some sicko is running around moving the coma patients, that hand should be exactly where Danny had left it.

He approaches the bed cautiously, fearful of what he’s going to find. Maybe someone had come in, rustled up the machines. Maybe one of the doctors or nurses is sniffing around to decide whether it’s time to pull one of the plugs.

It turns out that he shouldn’t be scared at all, because the soft flutter of Steve’s eyes beneath half-open lids is the most hopeful thing Danny’s seen all week.

“Danno?”

Well, maybe it’s his name that had come from Steve’s lips. Danny can barely hear it through the tubes that have been helping Steve to breathe. Danny waits all of two seconds before he’s hollering for a nurse or a doctor or the janitor or _anyone_ to come and take the tubes out of Steve so he can talk. Danny hovers in the corner of the hospital room while at least twenty people hover around Steve. It takes another thirty minutes before they’re done inspecting him, but everyone is cautiously optimistic that the swelling in his brain has gone down.

“Looks like you’ll get him back after all,” one of the nurses says cheerfully as she passes Danny on the way out.

He nearly sags against the wall with relief, but doesn’t. Instead, he takes a few cautious steps inside, giving Steve a fond look, sitting back into _his_ chair, in _his_ place, before he reaches out to take Steve’s hand in his again, feeling that familiar and settled weight wash over him. 

“Hey Danno,” Steve greets him fondly. “You’re okay. I got you out of there in time.”

“Don’t you ever, ever do that to me again,” Danny retorts. “If we’re getting blown up, then we’re getting blown up together. Partners,” he says sharply. “You got it?”

Steve’s eyes flutter shut, but he’s smiling like an idiot. “Yeah, babe, I got it.”


	2. Sway With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 - Cuddling
> 
> _“Hey,” Steve eventually says, his voice rough with the longing he’s been suppressing and burying from long before the hammock ever went up. There are words bunching up in his throat, words that he needs to say before they shrivel up and evaporate and this chance gets shoved aside like all the rest. “Move over.”_

The hammock is the best thing Steve’s ever done, which is saying something because Steve has done things like liberate countries, save lives, and cooked a mean pizza (if he does say so himself).

At first, he’d only put it in because Grace had made a comment that some of her friends at school had them and they were ‘pretty cool’. Danny had been amused by the comment, sharing a look over her head at Steve, but ‘pretty cool’ is all he needs to go on. That’s all he needs before he installs the hammock in his backyard, but one of the quickest lessons he learns is that the attention span of a teenage girl is a short thing, at best. Grace is already onto the next craze, which involves horses of some kind and Steve might love Grace, but there are limits to the lengths he’d go to.

The attention span of her father, however…

Steve’s got two glasses of lemonade in his hands, which he’d been sent to grab. By the time he gets back, Danny has moved from reading in the hammock to snoring in it, which probably shouldn’t be as impressive as it is to Steve, but hell, he’s impressed. Even though it’s been weeks since he put in the hammock, it’s still Danny’s preferred place to be in Steve’s house.

It’s also a reason for him to come to Steve’s house, so as far as Steve is concerned, the hammock stays forever.

“That my lemonade?” Danny mumbles, so maybe it turns out he’s not as asleep as previously suspected. Steve brings them over and holds it two feet above the hammock, like he’s genuinely about to tease Danny with the prospect of spilling it. The man below him opens one eye and glares at him from his comfortable repose. “You even think about it, you’re gonna be finding lemonade in unpleasant places for the next year. I’m serious, Steve. Don’t even try me. I’ll turn your mattress into a lemonade-bed.”

Sinking down to perch precariously on the edge of the hammock, Steve places the glass in Danny’s hands, not moving now that he’s comfortable himself. His mouth is dry because his mind is turning thoughts of Danny in this hammock – stretching and comfortable and happy – and making other parts of Steve wake up and pay attention. He turns his attention to the lemonade, swallowing the whole thing in one go while Danny sips at his, though he doesn’t take his eyes off Steve.

“Hey,” Steve eventually says, his voice rough with the longing he’s been suppressing and burying from long before the hammock ever went up. There are words bunching up in his throat, words that he needs to say before they shrivel up and evaporate and this chance gets shoved aside like all the rest. “Move over.”

Danny grunts, but says nothing as Steve takes both glasses (his empty one and Danny’s half-touched one) and sets them down on the grass below them. Danny gives him enough room for Steve to slide in, pressing his hips against Danny’s until they’re sagging into the hammock, occupying the same easy space.

“This thing’s gonna break,” Danny warns when an ominous creak sounds from below them.

Maybe it will, he thinks, and figures he might as well go for broke. Steve shifts and wraps his arms snugly around Danny’s middle, smiling with smug victory when Danny doesn’t push him away. Instead, he just reaches to the side to push against the ground, swaying the hammock back and forth.

With this kind of rhythm, Steve has a pretty good feeling he’s not bound to stay awake much longer. Steve moves his hand slowly over the cotton fabric of the t-shirt Danny’s wearing, feeling the sharp contrast of Danny’s back and shoulders. Danny shifts slightly into the touch, but despite a low grumble, doesn’t seem to care too much what Steve’s doing. 

“Hey, Steve,” he murmurs roughly.

“Yeah, D?”

“If this thing does give out and one of us breaks a limb in the process…”

Steve gears himself up for a long rant, ready to listen to the lows and highs of Danny’s vitriol for a piece of outdoor furniture and maybe even some history about how it’s a ridiculous item and only idiots would use it. He’s ready for all of that, plus maybe some of the traditional Williams name-calling, but instead, Danny turns into him, which brings his hair a little closer to Steve’s nose.

It means every breath in, he’s comforted by the perfect scent of Danny exactly where he belongs.

“Yeah, Danny?” Steve coaxes, when Danny’s trailed off from his expected rant.

“Well, it’ll be worth it,” he finally says. “This was a good idea.” His eyes are closed, but his lips are curved upwards in the world’s calmest, most beautiful smile that Steve’s ever seen. He tightens his fingers’ grip on Danny’s waist just gently, enough to give him the respite and patience to know he’s still there. “I could fall asleep like this and not even care about the waves.”

Yeah, thinks Steve. It’ll definitely be worth it.

“You’re a crazy person,” Steve accuses, sinking a little further into Danny’s body. “Most people like the white noise of the ocean. They say it calms them.”

“Most people didn’t grow up with Jersey gridlock,” Danny rants, but even his words turn into soothing white noise like high tide hitting the beach. Steve closes his eyes and lets it wash over him.

He closes his eyes and presses a kiss into the wildness of Danny’s hair, burying his nose in the familiar scent as he closes his eyes and lets the rocking soothe him to a half-alert state. If they could stay here, like this, always, then Steve might even consider moving the office to his place and solving crime from his backyard. 

“I’ll build the next hammock in the front yard,” Steve promises without even opening an eye as he makes his promises.

“That’s all I need, babe.”


	3. Life was supposed to be a film

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Yeah, thing! And while to the common eye, people might think I have rage attacks, they’ve clearly never seen you put a guy in a shark tank or do half the other crazy shit I’ve seen."_
> 
>  
> 
> Day 3 - Watching Movies

“Okay, no, this is ridiculous!” Danny shouts about the melee. They’d paused the movie because the argument that had broken out was getting heated to the point that he genuinely feared someone might die. First it had been a casual and friendly comment from Kono, but then people got angry and annoyed.

Never let it be said that people don’t identify strongly with their media. To be fair, it’s not like Danny’s acting like the calm, sane one. He’d flipped his lid about three comparisons ago because everyone’s getting it so very _wrong_.

“If Steve is _anyone_ from this movie, it’s some weird hybrid combination of characters. Because you,” Danny says, pointing to Kono, “are Black Widow because don’t even get me started on how dangerous you are. Maybe there’s a touch of Hawkeye in you, but I don’t know that you’d ever trade the sniper rifle for a bow and arrow. My buddy Lou over here is Thor, but I’m also gonna give him Fury because the man’s in charge. Chin? Chin, my buddy, is one hundred percent Captain America, which is funny because you’d think you were him, huh? But no, Steven, no, while you may have a weird patriotic _thing_ …”

“Thing?” Steve echoes, but that doesn’t stop Danny’s rant.

“Yeah, thing! And while to the common eye, people might think I have rage attacks, they’ve clearly never seen you put a guy in a shark tank or do half the other crazy shit I’ve seen. Which makes me think you’ve got a Good Steve and Insane Steve thing going on, which makes you the Hulk, babe.”

That earns a few laughs around the room, but Danny just puts his hands on his hips to challenge. In fact, everyone stops laughing as they probably start thinking up examples of all the times in the past when Steve’s done something that exceeded the limit of all sane reason.

And huh, look at that. No one’s arguing his point, now.

Once the silence finally fades away, it looks like they might get back to the movie for a glimmering hopeful second, but it’s never that easy. “So what’s that make you, Danny?” Chin pipes up. “I’m pretty sure we’re not allowed to have two Hulks on the same team.”

“Me? I am the ever-patient normal friend who gets the heroes out of their insane situation. Huh? I am the James Rhodes, I am the Pepper, I am Maria goddamn Hill,” he says, heated as he picks up his beer and gestures around to all of them. “I’m the one who uses detective skills, good sense, and my stubborn determination to keep doing the work on the ground while you idiots get shot and hurt and jailed.”

“Can we please get back to the movie? Not to mention, I notice that I’m still the one corralling all you idiots, even on our day off,” Lou complains from where he’s finally wrested the remote free of Kono’s possessive grasp (she’s refusing to give it up until the argument has been settled to her satisfaction). He finally wins, to the great disappointment of all, and the movie resumes. Danny huffs and settles back down onto the couch, leaning comfortably into Steve’s side where the popcorn is living.

He ignores the speculative look that Steve is giving him because it could be leading to all kinds of things and right now, Danny just really wants to be watching this movie.

Later, when everyone is gone and Danny is helping to clean up the beer bottles, that’s when Steve decides to cash in on all the crazy he’s been holding back on – when really, the time to argue this should’ve been hours ago when they were in the middle of their heated arguments. Steve’s set the bag aside and is starting at Danny like he’s not sure what he wants to say, first.

“You really think I have angry fits where I lose all reason?”

Danny looks up from the garbage bag pointedly, wondering if he really has to put it in words or whether Steve’s going to smarten up. He could give so many examples that he’d need another beer to quench the thirst of explaining, so he’s kind of hoping Steve doesn’t force him to go there. 

“Okay, fine,” Steve agrees. “Can we also agree that makes me a strong ally to have? I mean, c’mon, Danno. You want to win a battle, you want the Hulk on your team.”

“Only because they don’t have a Steve McGarrett,” Danny replies, shaking his head fondly as he drains the last of a half-empty bottle of beer, crooking two of his fingers to coax Steve closer. “C’mere,” he encourages and laughs fondly when Steve aborts all cleaning tasks to walk right into Danny’s waiting arms. Danny doesn’t do much more than hold him as tightly as he can, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his lips (a promise of more to come later). “How about the Incredible Steve helps me clean up this place and you can show me any other secret talents you’re hiding, huh? I mean, apart from the nine lives you seem to have.”

Danny knows he’s won when he feels the grin from Steve’s mouth against his neck and the slow kiss he presses there is enough to make Danny happy that nobody took the obvious route and called Danny the girlfriend at any point tonight. It’s not that he has any disrespect for those incredible women, but he’s his own damn hero. 

He might be the support system, but he’ll never feel under-appreciated or anything less than the most special to Steve and all their friends. After all, he knows all too well how dead they’d be without him.

“So if I’m the Hulk, does that mean you think there are parts of me that exceed expectation?”

“Oh, grow up, you infant,” Danny mutters, but he’s grinning like an idiot. “And get upstairs, huh? I’ll show you just how much I appreciate having a hulking beast on our team.”


	4. Follow my yellow light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 - On a Date
> 
> _“Of course I wore my goddamn date shirt, _this is a date_!” Danny shouts, turning to fire three bullets when there’s silence. _

Danny’s bleeding again.

“I swear to god, you are replacing this shirt,” Danny says, sticking his pinky finger through the cylindrical hole in his favorite pale yellow shirt. It’s the shirt he wears when he goes out and wants to impress someone. It’s the shirt he wears for dates. It’s the shirt he’d decided to wear today when Steve invited him out for lunch followed by some afternoon surfing, and now there’s a bullet hole in the arm. He should have known that tonight was going to end in terror and disaster.

Of course, he’s also bleeding as a result of that bullet, but he’s never gonna find another shirt like this without having to fly back to Newark. The graze will heal, but the shirt is irreplaceable. 

“Danny, let’s get through this before we talk about fashion and how much you love that’s hirt,” Steve replies, his voice clipped.

“How the hell did this happen?” Danny mutters, clutching his gun and waiting for the asshole that started shooting to run out of ammo. “Huh? I can’t go on _one date_ without this rock of island trying to kill me?”

Steve stops shooting at the perp all of a sudden.

Wait, why the hell did Steve stop shooting?

Danny frantically looks over to where he’s crouched down, worried he’s going to find blood or a hole through Steve’s head or something else equally awful that’s made him stop, but there’s nothing. Steve is, however, doing his best impression of a goldfish in gaping at Danny, so there’s that to worry about.

“What?” Danny snaps.

“You wore your date shirt,” Steve says.

“Of course I wore my goddamn date shirt, _this is a date_!” Danny shouts, turning to fire three bullets when there’s silence. The first two miss the mark, but he hears a sound of pain from the third, which gives him a triumphant moment to call to the reinforcements that the target’s been hit. He slumps down against the concrete traffic barrier to give Steve a concerned look. “What the hell, you didn’t think it was?”

“I’ve asked you out for lunch and surfing twenty times over the past few years, Danny,” Steve says, like he’s still in disbelief. “Why is today any different?”

“Because it’s the…” Danny stops, fades, when he realizes that Steve doesn’t know why it’s different. “You didn’t mean for this to be a date,” he realizes. “Even though today is the exact day you showed up at my door and pulled me onto your taskforce. Even though you took me to lunch at the place you took me after Rachel left for Stan. You didn’t realize…”

He ignores Duke shouting that the threat is contained, staggering to his feet and heading straight for where the ambulance has been set up, like he’s going to be able to walk away from his humiliation of the confusion that’s just occurred. He lets the paramedics patch him up, but not before he tells them that if they cut his yellow shirt, he will personally use a scalpel and cut their clothes to shreds.

They let Danny take it off, which is probably just letting the shirt die a little slower, because he doubts anyone can mend that. Eventually, Steve licks whatever wound he’s been tending to and sits beside Danny on the ambulance.

“Danny, I didn’t know today was a date because I thought the last twenty times weren’t dates, either. You were pretty clear about wanting us to be friends.”

“Because I was with someone when we started this,” he says. “I figured you picking where we ate and _today_ meant you were actually making a move.”

Steve’s guilty face looks an awful lot like a kicked puppy, which is one of the hardest things in the world to look at. Danny eventually relents, taking pity on him for having that face and gives him a searching look. “Maybe you need to be a little more obvious, for my sake,” he suggests. “You know? Make a gesture, do something so even an idiot like me can’t miss out on the cue.”

Steve considers that and it seems to resonate. “Yeah,” he agrees. “Yeah, Danny, I get you.”

When he slips away, Danny’s too stoned on the drugs to notice the bright yellow object in Steve’s hands. 

It shows up again when Danny’s just noticed that the yellow shirt is missing. Folded and pressed on his desk when he comes into work on Monday, the yellow date shirt is sitting there and he genuinely can’t see the bullet hole. Steve must have bought him a new one, but the tag is from the same store in Newark and it still smells like Danny’s cologne, not to mention the faint hint of blood that’s so hard to get out.

“I took off the sleeve and replaced it from the shoulder,” Steve explains from where he’s leaning in the doorway. “I mean, I’ve sewn shirts before, but I had to find the exact color to this one. Took me a while to track it down, it’s why I couldn’t get it back to you sooner.”

“You did all this,” Danny marvels, not sure he entirely understands. “Why?”

“Because I want date night,” Steve says. “Wednesday night. My place. Wear the shirt.”

At this rate, Danny’s also planning to wear his date night jeans, which have yet to see the light of day in months and definitely haven’t been taken apart by anyone’s discerning hands. He hides his grin behind a hand and grabs his pen, writing the date down on the calendar on his desk. “Wednesday, 7 PM. Date with Steve,” he narrates out loud and for the look on Steve’s face, it’s definitely all worth it. 

The yellow shirt will see the light of day again and it’ll be a glorious dawn.


	5. Slippy little lips will split me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 - Kissing
> 
> _“How the hell was I supposed to know it was going to rear back and claw my lip,” Steve protests. “I swear, it was defensively head-butting me,” he insists pointedly._

Steve’s looking at the _thing_ on his lip in the mirror again, poking and prodding at it.

“Don’t sulk,” Danny shouts at him from across the office. 

“I’m not sulking!”

“So, what, the sad face you’re making in the mirror isn’t sulking? That isn’t you bemoaning your fate? This is your fault, Steven, no one else is to blame for your own decisions,” Danny says, rolling out from behind the desk to get a better look at Steve, who is _definitely_ pouting at the split lip in the reflection. “You’re the one who picked up that cat.”

“How the hell was I supposed to know it was going to rear back and claw my lip,” Steve protests. “I swear, it was defensively head-butting me,” he insists pointedly.

“It’s a cat, Steve,” Danny says, rising to his feet because this affects him, too, this is _his problem_ too, because that cat didn’t just steal Steve’s pretty lips and put them out of commission. Danny hasn’t been able to kiss his boyfriend for days and he’s starting to get a little twitchy about it. “Huh? What’d you expect? They’re little ninja devils and you’re lucky this is all it did to you. What if it’d clawed your eye out? And then I’d be left with a one-eyed boyfriend instead of one I can’t kiss until it’s healed.”

“The doctor said you could…”

“The doctor did not say anything,” Danny interrupts, because he remembers that appointment and how Steve had ignored his way through it the way he typically did when a doctor’s speaking. “And I’m not making out with you just so I can open up that wound. I don’t know about you, but vampirism? Not my thing,” he says. He shivers just thinking about it, but it’s hard to look at Steve pouting like that and not be affected. He perches on the edge of Steve’s desk and reaches his thumb out to trace Steve’s upper unmauled lip, giving him a shrug. “You did this to both of us. I hope you learned your lesson about being kind to alleycats.”

“I was just putting the cat somewhere it wouldn’t get hurt,” Steve protests. “I don’t get why I’m being punished for being a good samaritan.” 

“That’s life,” Danny informs him, smirking as he leaves the office. “I’m not kissing you until those stitches are out of your lips,” he warns. “So you’d better get used to cold lips at night and thinking about what you’ve done.”

Steve doesn’t reply, but he goes right back to prodding at his lip, so clearly he’s not done obsessing.

After two more days pass, Danny’s good mood and teasing barbs have all but evaporated. He can’t even give Steve a chaste kiss in the morning without him wincing and reacting in pain. Danny’s this close to trying to find that evil cat to give it a piece of his mind about what the hell it’s doing to their relationship. At least, he’d thought so until Steve comes back from lunch without the stitches in his mouth.

“Steve?” Danny asks hopefully.

“The doctor says it’s healed enough that the stitches can come out and so long as my overly mouthy boyfriend doesn’t aggressively bite it open…his words, not mine, Danny, you really shouldn’t get so handsy in front of my doctor…then I’m good to go back to normal,” he reports cheerfully.

“So, we’re all clear?” Danny checks, inching closer to Steve in the time that it takes him to speak those few words. It’s like his body is already on the kind of autopilot of a car wash, except instead of putting the car in neutral, his brain and body are conspiring to get him close enough to touch Steve. He doesn’t even know where to start.

The ass is always a safe bet, so Danny rests his hands there at the curve of Steve’s well-defined hips. Next, there’s the waist. It’s a good waist. It’s a trim waist, thanks to all the workouts Steve puts in. And hell, Danny’s been in a good position to admire that and is always very vocal about how he appreciates Steve’s assets.

“Danny, the doctor didn’t say you had to treat me like a porcelain doll,” Steve says, in that patient tone that’s just shy of lecturing.

“Did he leave a goddamn novel or something?” Danny wonders. “Am I okay to kiss my boyfriend or what?”

Steve answers for him by closing the distance between them and doing what Danny’s been shying away from, sliding that gangly giant hand of his into Danny’s hair, twisting and twining it up to pry his head back, opening Danny up for a kiss that has him completely on the defensive, pinned back against the wall and how does this happen _every single time_? That’s what Danny wants to know.

He lets out a muffled, happy whine and surrenders, letting Steve pin his wrists to the wall with his hands and deepen the kiss while simultaneously slowing it down. It goes from frantic and needy to something more familiar and yeah, Danny can taste the faint hint of blood on his lip, but it’s all Steve.

“No more cat rescues,” Danny murmurs roughly, when Steve’s let Danny get his feet back on the ground.

“No promises,” Steve replies, but he’s got a look on his face like he’d do just about anything Danny asked, right about now.


	6. The Secrets That You Keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I’m telling you, you’re crazy,” Lou says. “Except now she’s got me paranoid I’m missing something and here I am, staring like a crazy stalker at Williams when I’m pretty sure McGarrett called _dibs_ on that one a long time ago.”_
> 
> Day 6 - Wearing each other's clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the skipping of a day. I came home from work late and got smacked in the face with a pretty awful fever, so I was completely out of commission. Hopefully this makes up for it!

“What?” Chin asks when he walks into the office to find both Lou and Kono staring into Danny’s office like the puzzle of the day is over there and not in the body of the biker they’d found this morning. “What is it?”

“Does something look weird about Danny today?” Kono asks, without taking her eyes off of Danny for a single second. Chin’s starting to wonder if they need a few more cases if this is how they’re spending the majority of their time. “I swear, there’s something…”

“I’m telling you, you’re crazy,” Lou says. “Except now she’s got me paranoid I’m missing something and here I am, staring like a crazy stalker at Williams when I’m pretty sure McGarrett called _dibs_ on that one a long time ago.”

Chin settles beside Kono, putting down his tablet to join in the investigation. He lets his eyes do a thorough scan of Danny, but he doesn’t pick up anything too obviously out of the ordinary. He doesn’t look overly stressed, doesn’t look too tired, and he even looks somewhat happy, given that Grace has been behaving extra well lately. The shoes are shined, pants are pressed, and he’s wearing his lucky brown spotted socks and matching belt. There’s nothing odd or remotely different about his carefully coiffed hair and nothing in his actions give any indication that something’s out of the ordinary.

In fact, the only thing that looks even remotely out of the ordinary is a minute, tiny detail, but as soon as Chin lands on it, he _knows_.

“Huh,” is all he says, trying not to give away what he’s discovered.

“What?” Kono demands. “What is it? I’m going crazy, cuz, you gotta tell me.”

“I don’t think it’s my place,” he says. With a gesture to Danny, he picks up his tablet again. “Ask him if he’s ready to tell you, then you’ll get your answer.” Danny seems to have figured out that the team is doing something without him, because he pushes the glass door open and joins them with a look of suspicion that’s probably rightly earned, given what they’ve been talking about.

Chin tries to see whether Steve is here yet, but from the looks of his untouched office, the boss hasn’t made it in. That’s probably for the best, considering what’s going on.

Danny gestures between the three of them suspiciously. “What is this?” he wonders. “Huh? What? I mean, I try to ignore the staring, but it kind of gets a little weird when it goes on as long as it does. I realize I’m an attractive, gorgeous specimen of man, but there’s only so much staring a guy can endure before it gets weird.”

“New haircut?” Kono asks, clearly still trying to figure it out.

“Maybe you’re trying out a new aftershave,” Lou offers.

Danny stares at them like they’re both crazy people and apparently that’s enough to break the mood, sending everyone to work. Chin, of course, is going to start working at the table and slides a stool over so he can start compiling the data files for the day. Once he makes sure that both Kono and Lou are far out of hearing distance, he clears his throat to get Danny’s attention.

“What, you too?” Danny sighs.

Chin tugs on the edge of his collar to give Danny a small signal, even though he has the feeling that he’s going to have to spell it out for the man. “You uh, you spend the night at McGarrett’s again?”

It’s enough to switch the suspicious gaze, turning it on its head. Now, Danny’s staring at Chin like he’s the one holding a secret, even though Chin’s just a damn good detective. “Don’t see how that’s your business,” Danny replies. “Or how you’d even know.”

“Next time you spend the night,” Chin says, “maybe check whose shirt you put on in the dark?” He offers Danny a sympathetic look and a shrug before he gets up to fill his mug of coffee for the day. He’s not about to tell Kono or Lou (or even Danny) how he’d figured it out, but then again, who’s going to be looking for the fact that Danny’s shirt hasn’t been strained to the point of bursting.

Normally, those buttons pull apart like they’re trying to explode. The one day Danny comes in with a perfectly fitting shirt with a deeper tuck than usual? Definitely not the first thing people would notice, but Chin’s a better detective than most people.

Besides, now he gets to spend the rest of the day watching Danny try to run paranoid circles around what he looks, smells, and is acting like to figure out what gave him away. Chin will take mercy on him later and let him know, but for now? For now, he’s got a few reactions to enjoy.


	7. Let's Stop With All The Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Mr. Tall, Dark, Tattooed and Smoldering wants to hook up?_
> 
> _No, scratch that. Mr. Tall, Dark, Tattooed and Stupid thinks Danny’s a goddamn hooker?_
> 
> Day 7 - Undercover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our first venture into an AU!

This is the last time Danny does a favor for the guys in vice. Just because he’d asked for some time off so he could spend the night with his kid, it shouldn’t mean he has to end up working midnight shifts in Newark trying to rope in some asshole who’s been off the reservation, drugging guys at clubs. The worst part is that they’re in the endless groundwork of the case, which means that most nights he shows up and nothing happens.

Tonight’s turned out to be another bust. “Hey, I’m getting out of here,” he tells his assigned partner when three AM rolls around and their guy doesn’t show. 

Heading out to the street, he rubs his eyes to try and get the eyeliner off. His vision is blurry by the time he sees the shadow in the streetlights, but he kind of figures he’s making things up, because who the hell lets someone that handsome loose on the world at this hour of the night.

“Hey,” the guy speaks, low and throaty. “You uh, you got an hourly?”

Mr. Tall, Dark, Tattooed and Smoldering wants to hook up? 

No, scratch that. Mr. Tall, Dark, Tattooed and Stupid thinks Danny’s a goddamn hooker? 

He’s reeling back, readying himself for a rant when he realizes that the guy is wearing a navy uniform, which probably means he’s in town for one night only. Not only that, but he’s the nicest piece of ass Danny’s seen and it’s been a long, long time. There’s a whole argument between his sanity, his rationality, his logic, but even combined, the three things don’t hold a candle to how much Danny appreciates the guy’s looks, not to mention how hard up he’s been for some action. “For you, babe, let’s go pro bono,” he says decisively, wrapping his hand up in Tall’s tie, winking at him. “You got a name and a place to go?”

“It’s Steve,” he says, acting a little shady and if it weren’t for the fact that Danny’s seen guys act like this right before the act (and the fact he knows every cop this side of the river), he’d think maybe Steve were setting him up. “And I’ve got a hotel room.”

“Please tell me that isn’t your real name,” Danny pleads, but given the look on Steve’s face, it really is. Apparently Danny’s taste is pretty, but all together too damn trusting. He sighs and gestures for him to lead the way. “Look, you’re just lucky this whole situation isn’t what it seems, I’m not actually too eager to do my job tonight, and you’re getting a lucky break.”

The last thing he wants to do is haul this guy in and admit how Danny had caught him on a vice charge.

Besides, it really has been a while since Danny’s been laid and so long as no money passes hands tonight, he can live with himself. He’s poured himself into these skin-tight jeans three nights in a row and for what? For nothing, so he might as well get some kind of satisfaction from the whole damn disaster. So he lets Steve lead him to a pretty swanky hotel room, lets Steve strip off his uniform slow and steady, and even lets Steve sweat a while, trying to figure out how to initiate things.

“I got this,” Danny promises, advancing until he’s got Steve pressed up against the wall. It’s been a while, but it doesn’t take long before Danny remembers each small detail when it comes to taking a man apart with your lips and your tongue. Before long, he’s got his mouth wrapped around Steve’s cock and has the man shouting expletives and praises, coming down Danny’s throat without even asking whether it’s okay.

If it weren’t for the situation, Danny might be offended.

Steve slides his fingers through Danny’s hair with a gentleness that surprises him given the forceful way he’d kept thrusting his hips and fucking Danny’s face, but maybe that’s guilt? Who the hell knows? “Tell me how I can make you feel good,” Steve begs quietly. 

Danny knows he should send him on his way, but instead he coaxes Steve over to the bed and shows him the steps and the tricks of what Danny has just done for him. Lying there, writhing with pleasure, he knows he’s never going to be able to talk about this again, but god, does it feel good. Steve takes him on a ride with more exposed pleasure than Danny’s had in ages. Danny guides Steve’s hands to the right places and brings himself to the edge three times thanks to Steve’s hands, lips, and cock. Sure, Danny gives as good as he gets, but he feels like he’s the one benefitting from the night. By the early hours, Danny can do nothing more than collapse wearily in bed, not caring how he’s pressed up against a veritable stranger.

They part in the morning without much spoken and Danny figures he’s never going to see the man again, for all the disappointment that causes. They don’t exchange numbers, nor does either of them even suggest it.

Danny realizes that he’s very, very wrong about the ‘never seeing each other again’ part though, when he goes back to work and discovers his Captain with a lieutenant from the Navy, here to track down smugglers coming into the ports. It’s a tall, dark, handsome stranger with talented hands and lips. It’s one who’s not so strange to Danny.

“Crap,” is all Danny has to say, and knows the feeling’s mutual when Steve meets his eyes and the panic is so clear that you’d see it from the sky. 

It’s definitely going to be one interesting investigation. From the shocked look on Steve’s face, he knows there’s going to be a whole lot of explaining to be done, yet all Danny can wonder is if this means there might be the chance for a repeat performance.


	8. I Thought You Were My Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8 - Shopping
> 
> _“Grace, you can tell me anything,” Steve promises._
> 
> _“I know,” she replies quickly. “And I would, except I don’t know if it’s mine to tell.”_

Steve is loaded down with as many bags as he can carry, but he’s never been happier to do so. Danny’s been out of town with a case and Steve hadn’t been able to go because he kept getting roped into duties that the Governor wanted his attention on, which means that when Grace comes home after an awful day, Steve’s got the solution.

He knows he’s going to get an earful from Danny when he gets back, but as far as he’s concerned, Grace deserves every trace of happiness that the men in her life can possibly get for her and taking her out for an all-expenses paid shopping trip is pretty much the least Steve can do.

He sets aside the pink bags and perches on the picnic bench near the bench, licking at the vanilla soft-serve cone he’d bought to end off their great day together, watching as Grace licked her contemplatively, like she’s waiting on a question she hasn’t decided if she’s going to ask yet.

Steve knows all about needing some time to get your thoughts in order, so he lets the moment pass for a little, but when she still hasn’t said anything after another five minutes have passed, Steve feels like he can at least prod her gently.

“You okay, Gracie?”

“I was just thinking about that locket in the jewelry store we went into,” she admits. “You looked at it for a really long time. Are you back together with Catherine?” she asks, like she’s afraid of the answer. Steve’s a bit lost, because he’s not sure why Grace is so concerned about, but she’s always been welcome and encouraging of Steve’s presence in her life, so maybe she’s just worried about him.

Steve wraps the remaining cone in a napkin and gives Grace his full attention. “I was thinking of buying it as a birthday present for my niece,” he admits. “Are you worried that I might get back together with Catherine?”

She nods, but her attention is focused on the ground.

“Hey,” he says quietly. “Why?”

She shrugs, but still doesn’t say anything, which means that Steve has to try and figure out why she might be feeling like this. God knows Danny has a habit of running his mouth, so he could have said anything that might’ve put Grace in this mood, but she would just tell him if she were worried that either Steve or Catherine were going to get their hearts broken or were making a mistake. The silence means she’s hiding something and Steve isn’t sure what it is.

“Grace, you can tell me anything,” Steve promises.

“I know,” she replies quickly. “And I would, except I don’t know if it’s mine to tell.”

“Danny said something,” Steve realizes.

Grace nods, but doesn’t say anything. At least this time, she’s not shirking her gaze away or avoiding Steve. “I don’t think he even knows that I heard him, but he was talking to Mom about you and he mentioned that he thought Catherine might be coming back. He was really upset and I think it’s because he’s been waiting to figure out how to tell you that he likes you,” she says carefully. “And I don’t even know if Danno knows the way he does, but I think it’d be really good if you and him could try dating. I think you could make him really happy and if Catherine’s your girlfriend again, that means Danno doesn’t get a chance.”

Steve tries to quell the hopeful beating of his heart, telling himself that Grace could just be making mountains out of molehills. Maybe Danny never said anything at all. Maybe she’s misinterpreting it. There’s too many what ifs in this situation for him, but the good news is that he’s still wide open, as far as relationships go.

“Grace, Catherine is someone I love very much,” he clarifies, wanting to be honest, “but she and I haven’t been together for some time now. I don’t know if your Dad actually wants to think about me like that, but if he does, there’s nothing standing between us when it comes to having a shot.”

“Not even your jobs?” she checks.

“Not even our jobs,” he promises. “Now, come on, let’s get your things home and remember, only tell Danny I bought you a quarter of what we actually bought today.”

She nods, seemingly perked up from earlier, and helps Steve carry the bags to the car so they can return to his place for burgers and milkshakes that are made even better when they both end up with ice cream on their upper lips.

The next day when Danny gets home, Steve doesn’t ambush him with anything. He doesn’t even bring up what Grace had said. Instead, he just greets him home like he normally would, opens him a beer, and welcomes him back into Steve’s home and the little nook he’s made for himself in his life. Maybe they won’t get there immediately, but Danny’s got a place in Steve’s life whether he knows it or not.

And now that Steve knows he’s got a shot, he’s not letting Danny get away from him that easily.


	9. Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9 - Hanging Out With The Team
> 
> _“I think the last person who called me cute was my daughter’s imaginary friend,” Danny jokes, feeling a little overwhelmed by this moment. He’d come over here for a game, but now he might be leaving with someone’s number. “Hey, no offense, I just don’t usually go for surfers,” he says. “I mean, not ones who do it for a career. So, are you…?”_

Team drinks is a very, very bad idea.

Team drinks with the Five-0 team after a long case in which they’re all punch-drunk exhausted is possibly the worst idea Danny’s ever said yes to. After all, that’s how he’s wound up with colorful shots lining the table in front of him representing the whole rainbow while Kono stares at him like she’s probably going to try and take his soul. 

“No,” he says forcefully.

“Yes!” she replies eagerly. “You can’t decide you don’t want to play when you’ve already been playing! You made Chin ask out a guy,” she says, and Chin holds up the piece of paper that shows the phone number he’d managed to get without even doing much more than hold down a two-minute conversation, “I told you about my first kiss, and Lou kissed a fish.”

“That, I did,” Lou agrees.

Danny sighs, glancing over to where Steve is sitting smugly with his arms crossed over his chest, like none of this applies to him at all. He’d ask why Steve gets to get away with such an easy truth, because ‘it’s classified’ shouldn’t mean you skip a turn. It means you get something else, but apparently everyone is okay with Navy classifications overriding the rules of truth or dare.

“Okay, fine, dare,” Danny finally decides, because knowing his coworkers, truth is going to get him somehow telling embarrassing stories that will never be forgotten.

“Okay,” Kono says. “Go get that guy’s number.”

“What? No!” Danny protests. “Chin just did!”

“Exactly,” she says brightly. “It’s your turn.”

Danny turns to look around the table for some kind of support, but no matter where he turns, he doesn’t get anything. Chin just shrugs and Kono obviously looks eager. Lou is passive, and Steve’s got this weird furrowed brow thing going on that Danny can’t figure out. He looks at Steve just a little longer, silently pleading for him to bail Danny out of this, but clearly it’s not working. Actually, Steve looks a little like he’s telling Danny not to do it.

Or he’s telling Danny he _can’t_ do it.

“All right, fine,” he mutters, shoving his way up from the table and marching over to where the surfer with the shaggy, artfully messed hair is standing, nursing one of Danny’s favorite blue drinks. He knows this is probably ridiculous, knows that the guy probably knows something is up, but all he’s trying to do is get out of this with some of his dignity intact. “Hey,” he greets the guy. “Look, my buddy already got your number and this is gonna sound stupid, but…”

“But you want it too?” the guy asks, his Australian accent definitely not hurting when it comes to how attractive the guy is. Sure, Danny’s pretty straight, but he’s got a soft spot for tall, dark, and handsome. Plus, he’s a sucker for accents. His ex-wife pretty much proves it. “Make you a deal,” he says, uncapping a pen with his mouth. “I’ll give you my number so you can win your dare, but you have to call it,” he says, chewing on the pen-cap as he gives Danny a charming, handsome crooked smile. “I’ve been watching your table all night. You’re cute.”

“I think the last person who called me cute was my daughter’s imaginary friend,” Danny jokes, feeling a little overwhelmed by this moment. He’d come over here for a game, but now he might be leaving with someone’s number. “Hey, no offense, I just don’t usually go for surfers,” he says. “I mean, not ones who do it for a career. So, are you…?”

“I’m a DJ,” he provides. Danny tries to subdue his reaction, but clearly it’s not good enough because the guy laughs warmly. “So, not good with that either?”

“I’m a detective,” Danny says. “I might have to shut you down for a noise ordinance complaint.”

They’re getting along, which is kind of surprising for Danny, who hadn’t thought this would go off so well. In fact, he doesn’t even realize how long it’s been until he hears the sound of someone clearing their throat beside them, which turns out to be Steve. Danny gives him a curious look, then remembers the game he’d been playing.

The phone number is written on a napkin in front of him, but Danny hasn’t made a move to touch it yet.

“Everything okay?” Steve asks, crossing his arms so his chest suddenly looks at least twice the size as it did before. His glare is focused intently on Danny’s new friend, like Danny doesn’t even exist. “You’ve been a while, Danno.”

“Oh, shit,” the surfer says. “I didn’t realize you were…you know…”

“I was what?”

“I’m on my way out, promise,” the surfer vows, swiping the napkin as he ducks away. So there goes Danny’s win at the game and a cute guy. It just figures that Steve would ruin things like this. 

Danny gives him a dubious look, smacking him in the chest. “What the hell?”

“Me? What the hell were _you_ doing?” Steve demands.

“I was making a new friend, maybe having a decent conversation, huh?”

“Danny, you don’t go for guys,” Steve says. “You don’t, because if you did, then I don’t understand.”

The genuine hurt on Steve’s face is hard to bear, but how the hell is Danny supposed to say that normally he does go for guys, but not the ones he works with every day, because if he goes there and ruins it, then his whole life on this island is pretty much up in smoke. So yeah, he’s been too much of a coward to go there, but after nearly five years, he ought to try a little more bravery.

Danny reaches into his pocket for a pen, handing it to Steve. “Here.”

“What are you doing?”

“Here,” Danny says again. “I’m not losing this bet. So write down your number, so I can ask a guy out on a date.”

Steve is clearly confused, but used to following Danny’s orders, so he scribbles down a phone number that Danny’s had memorized for years. Danny takes it from him and gives a firm nod, heading back to the table to find that they’ve all moved on to telling old stories. They don’t even notice that Danny’s come back, so he privately pockets Steve’s number in his pocket.

And tomorrow, maybe he’ll text Steve and see if he isn’t interested in some other games they can play.


	10. The Dog Days Are Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10 - With Animals
> 
> _“Yeah, we uh, we got witches,” Danny says wryly. “The prosecutor didn’t like Steve not playing nice, so she uh, she took matters into her own hands. Please tell me you have some kind of book stashed away that has a way to undo the curse?”_

“So, you’re telling me that our latest case involved a witch,” Danny says, gesturing at the lab-collie on the ground, “and that Steve pissed her off? I mean, I’m not surprised about that part, but the witch part is throwing me off.”

Ellie is giving him a dubious look, holding out the leash to him expectantly. “I’m still processing that break with reality,” she admits. “Will you please take Steve out for a walk or something? He’s been barking around my office all day and as much as I try and entertain him, he just keeps bringing me a bone to play fetch with. I’m trying to fix this, but I have a law degree, not one in reversing curses,” she says.

Well, isn’t it a good thing that Danny’s a natural with dogs, huh? He reaches out to take the leash from Ellie, a big smirk on his face as he pats his thighs with his palms and whistles to get Steve to come on command.

Oddly, he does.

“That’s something I could get used to, you know,” Danny feels compelled to point out, a smirk on his face as he twines the leash around his palm, trying to get over the fact that Steve is apparently a canine because he finally pissed off the wrong person. “You know, I’m only surprised this didn’t happen to you sooner,” Danny says knowingly, giving Steve a pointed look that’s returned by a pathetic little whining sound.

He scratches Steve behind the ears for that one, ignoring the delight he feels when Steve starts wagging his tail as a result. He doesn’t tease Steve with treats, fetch commands, or anything else he might do with an actual dog, but the temptation is _definitely_ there.

Instead, Danny calls in Jerry because desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Are you telling me that’s seriously McGarrett?” Jerry asks, leaning left to right while Steve’s canine eyes track him attentively, like he might pounce if the man reveals himself to be a threat.

“Yeah, we uh, we got witches,” Danny says wryly. “The prosecutor didn’t like Steve not playing nice, so she uh, she took matters into her own hands. Please tell me you have some kind of book stashed away that has a way to undo the curse?”

“My stuff got taken, but, they left some of the things they thought was useless,” Jerry says, eyes brightening. “I think I might have just the thing. You’re gonna need some supplies, though.” He grabs a pencil from the table and writes down a list of five items that Danny would never want to buy for his worst enemy, but hey, it’s not like he’s well-traversed in the world of animal curses. He shakes his head and starts to debate where on the island he’s going to find ‘bone marrow of a vampire bat’. 

It’s a couple of hours later that Danny has all the items he’s been sent out for and is now genuinely disturbed by what’s going on, on the island. There are way more occult shops than he really wanted to know about, but between him and Jerry, he’s got the ingredients, a spell, and a whining dog that apparently can only voice Steve’s frustrations through whining.

“I take back everything I said about liking you better like this,” Danny informs him. “Okay, what do we do?”

“We say the words very, very carefully,” Jerry says, mixing the ingredients in the bowl and using the pestle to mix them up, lighting them as he hands Danny a copy of the Latin. Danny recites the word as best as he can, watching as Steve goes from being a dog to a very naked man in front of Jerry and Danny, with a lot more beard on his face than Danny remembers seeing on him.

And the naked part; did Danny forget about the naked part? It’s kind of hard to ignore.

“I uh, I should get out of here,” Jerry says, obviously noticing the naked part, too. 

Danny just sits back and smirks as Jerry lets himself out. “I mean, it’s no tail wagging,” he dryly remarks, as to Steve’s very noticeable erection. “But I think maybe you’re happy to see me again, babe.”

“I don’t think you want me kissing you while my mouth feels the way it does,” Steve warns, a little darkly.

“Yeah, I hear you need to wash it out with soap,” Danny notes. “Next time, don’t piss off the prosecution, okay? Dogs are one thing. The last thing I need is for you to turn into a snake or whatever awful punishment she comes up with next. Capisce?” he says, taking small delight in the victory of Steve obeying with a nod of his head. “Good. Now, go find yourself a shower, a toothbrush, and then we can go back to cuddling on the couch while you whine at the TV.”

Steve does every single thing that Danny asked, so the best way to reward him is with a treat, right?

That's what all the good obedience books tell him, anyway.


	11. You'd Be Like Heaven To Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11 - Wearing Leather
> 
> _“See, you’re the one who’s forced me into a situation where I have to wear these for the next forty-eight hours. You know what that makes me, Danno?”_

“I look ridiculous,” Steve complains.

“Next time, don’t bet Kono that she can’t beat you out on the surf,” Danny says, not bothering to look up from his papers just yet. He doesn’t know what Kono’s exact punishment for Steve had been, but he has the feeling that it’s not a kind one. He reshuffles the newspaper and folds over the sports page, groaning as he stares at the local news. “Why the hell do they never cover the important stuff, huh?”

“Danny, we’re thousands of miles from any of that,” Steve says, prying the newspaper down. “Hey, can you look at me? Normally I walk into a room and you stare at me like I’m a medium-rare steak.”

“That is my favorite kind of steak,” Danny agrees with a fond smile, settling the paper down onto the desk to look at what Kono’s punishment is. 

The minute he sees it, he wonders when Kono decided this is supposed to be a punishment for _him_. She’s forced Steve into some ridiculously tight leather pants that show off every curve of his ass and thighs and the fact that Danny is apparently sparking some other kinds of interest. That shows, too. 

Danny tries to get out a sound. 

He actually tries to get out a word, something that resembles praise or happiness at Kono’s punishment, but all of that gets lost in a jumble of sounds that definitely don’t resemble anything in the English language. His fingers are still scrabbling for something to grab onto and it happens to be Steve’s hip. 

Steve doesn’t look too put out, which means he’s just calmly accepting his fate in that even-keeled Steve McGarrett way he’s perfected. “I think Kono is more pissed at you for implying she _can’t_ beat me than at me,” Steve says, shifting just slightly outside of Danny’s reach as he tries to reach for him. “No,” he says patiently. “See, you’re the one who’s forced me into a situation where I have to wear these for the next forty-eight hours. You know what that makes me, Danno?”

“Not happy?”

“Definitely not happy,” Steve agrees. “Which means that for the next forty-eight hours that I wear these leather pants, you’re not going to touch me.” He even goes so far as taking an extra large step back in order to make his point, which gets Danny’s teeth gnawing together in something like irritation.

It sounds like it’s time for some calm negotiations. Danny folds the newspaper and smiles at Steve with his best winsome, easy grin. He tries to look like he doesn’t care. He tries to make it seem like it’s no big deal if Steve wants to make this kind of horrible mistake when it comes to their sex life. He wants his boyfriend to really know how much Danny is okay with this decision.

The problem is that Steve knows him way too well and can probably tell that the pinch at the corners of Danny’s lips means he’s really upset about this and that Danny wants nothing more than to get his hands on, then subsequently under those pants as fast as he can. “What’s it gonna take to get my hands on your ass?” Danny jumps to the point. “Huh? Money? Sexual favors? Let you gag me?”

“The last one’s interesting,” Steve admits. “Keep bartering.”

“I’ll fetch pizza for you for a month?”

“Nah.”

“Go swimming with you in the morning.”

Steve says nothing, but there’s a look of interest on his features that let Danny know he’s going in the right direction.

“For a week,” Danny extends, gauging Steve’s interest. “A month?” he ekes out, and before he can take it back, Steve’s reached over the desk and shaken his hand, swearing the deal in place. Steve leaves the room looking a lot happier than any man in his situation _should_ look, which leaves Danny feeling resoundingly like he just got played.

“Crap,” mutters Danny, and decides he better make his punishment as least worth it.


	12. Just Can't Get Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12 - Making Out
> 
> (A continuation of Day 7, undercover)

“Detective Williams, can I see you for a second?” Steve politely requests.

Danny barely glances up from the reports he’s been sifting through, not sure if he has time for this. Ever since that ridiculous mistake, Danny’s been avoiding the man because how the hell do you explain that you’d been working vice and figured you might as well entertain yourself? Huh? It’s really not anything good, and as hard as it’s been to ignore someone as good looking as Steve, Danny’s been making do.

He clears his throat when his partner gives him an expectant look, sighing and nodding. “Yeah, gimme a sec,” he mutters, filing away the reports before he follows Steve.

He’s not sure why they’re going in the direction of the custodian’s closet and he definitely doesn’t understand when Steve hauls him by the shoulders, pinning him inside with force. Danny would’ve made a noise of protest, but Steve does this thing where he’s an idiot and maybe a little insane and _claps_ his hand right over his mouth firmly.

Danny lets out a muffled protest, wiggling and writhing, but that’s not exactly a good idea because that gets Steve’s hands all over him. He’s been trying really hard not to think about Steve’s hands on him and suddenly he’s in a position when it all comes flooding back.

Finally, Steve lets go of him. “You’re a cop,” he snaps.

“Wow, that’s about two days late, but I guess I get why you needed our help on this case,” Danny retorts, eyes wider for a second as he wonders whether that’s a legitimate confusion on Steve’s part. He knows it’s probably not, but man, does Danny worry for him for just a second. “Look, I wasn’t trying to honeytrap you or anything. I didn’t even mean to go along with it for very long, but you’re hot and I was kind of desperate. I mean, it wasn’t bad, was it?”

Steve’s looking at him with murder in his eyes, which means Danny’s probably going to end up stabbed by the mop handle in a few seconds.

What Danny doesn’t expect is for Steve to hook his arms underneath Danny’s armpits, pinning him up against the creaking wooden shelves. It’s no more than ten seconds later when Steve leans in and kisses Danny with more intensity and urgency than he’s experienced in his whole adult life. Steve kisses him like Danny’s the first person he’s ever met that he wanted to kiss this much.

He’d be an idiot not to melt right into that, wouldn’t he?

That’s how his Captain ends up knocking on the door twenty minutes later, Danny struggling to find his footing. His cheeks are pink and flushed with effort, his lips are swollen, and he has the feeling Steve’s given him a pretty good hickey.

“Williams, you in there?”

“Yeah, boss,” he gets out, raspy. “Felt a little sick, just needed a little privacy,” he answers, all the while Steve stares at him so intently that Danny wonders how he isn’t jumping the man for a second round already. 

Danny waits until he hears footsteps leading away before he sags with relief, staring up at Steve and wondering what the hell they’re doing. 

“Somehow, I doubt you’re going to tell me that you’re planning on settling down in Jersey, huh,” Danny says ruefully, slicking both hands aggressively back through his hair as he tries not to get his hopes up about the gorgeous Navy guy with a great mouth.

Steve shakes his head. “After this case, I’m back out there,” he says.

“Where?”

Steve remains mum through it all, which means Danny can guess well enough that he’ll have to die to earn that kind of information.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” he jokes sardonically, taking some strange pleasure in the way that makes Steve flinch. “So, what, until you go, we’re gonna work this case and you’re gonna rob me away for makeouts in the closet and, what, we’re gonna have athletic sex every night?”

Steve doesn’t reply, but the hopeful little lift of his brow does it for him.


	13. Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 13 - Eating Ice Cream
> 
> _“You know,” Steve says languidly, “when you said you were in the mood for ice cream, I don’t think I really expected this.” He pokes at a spot just above his navel. “You missed the spot,” he says, his voice rough._

“Danny, this can’t be sanitary.”

“Shut up and put your head back before I spill,” Danny replies, reaching up haphazardly and clumsily to get Steve to set his head back on the couch before disaster strikes. Steve laughs fondly, but still stays somewhat suspended upwards, which means that the chocolate soft serve that’s been on Steve’s abs is now sliding closer towards the sides of him. 

This is a job for Danny’s mouth. He’s quick to suck up the last of the rich droplets before he eases back, stirring the spoon in the cup as he straddles Steve a little more comfortably.

“You know,” Steve says languidly, “when you said you were in the mood for ice cream, I don’t think I really expected this.” He pokes at a spot just above his navel. “You missed the spot,” he says, his voice rough. 

Danny sees the little droplet and makes an interested little noise as he’s quick to slide down and seal his mouth over that lingering little droplet, sucking it away with a little scrape of teeth and tongue for good measure, taking immense pleasure in the way that Steve hisses and arches his back off the couch, like he likes something Danny’s doing.

Danny eases back with a victorious smug grin on his face. “I’m telling you, it just tastes better this way,” he says, like he’s onto the next big craze. He twirls his spoon in the soft serve until there’s enough melted liquid to slide over Steve’s body, allowing a few droplets to splatter on that canvas until Danny’s pleased with it.

There’s three of them in a row leading down lower to the band of Steve’s swim shorts.

“Danny,” Steve gets out, barely more than an exhalation.

Danny kisses the one off. Then he licks the second off with a long stroke of his tongue. The third, he leaves for a second while he occupies his fingers with getting Steve’s pants off to his ankles, sliding back up for that third bit of chocolate ice cream. He sets aside the cup on the table, because he has big plans for that little drop.

He peers up to check that Steve is still paying attention. He doesn’t tear his eyes away from Steve until he gets that shaky little inhalation of his lower lip, that little breathy gasp where his chest lifts and then falls suddenly.

It’s like Danny’s permission to pass go. 

He tugs down Steve’s swimsuit and swallows him deep in a graceful motion, leaving that last drop of chocolate ice cream sitting so still and perfect as Danny bobs and uses his tongue to get Steve to make all those pretty little noises that he’s so very good at. Steve wraps his fingers up in Danny’s hair, making an absolute mess of it as he tugs wildly and tries to pull him so that Steve’s dick is pushing right up against the back of his throat.

And it’s a nice try, but it’s definitely not happening.

Danny stubbornly refuses to give in to what Steve wants, keeping the pace _he_ wants as he works, smirking when he brings Steve to a languid completion, happily shifting up Steve’s body when he’s done swallowing.

“I take it back,” Steve mumbles. “This is the best way to eat ice cream.”

Kissing off that last drop, Danny couldn’t agree more.


	14. Daddy's Little Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 14 - Doing something with Grace
> 
>  
> 
> _“I really think Danny should be here,” Steve says again, because he has the feeling that this is going to end in shouting and tears – both when it comes to Steve. He tries to follow Grace as best as he can, but this place is more of a labyrinth than some actual mazes he’s had to get out of._

“Grace, I appreciate you thinking of me, but I’m not sure why I’m here,” Steve says, cautiously ducking through narrow hallways of fabric that seem to be assaulting him. “Doesn’t your Dad say my fashion sense leaves something to be desired?”

“Actually, I think he says that a really blind plaid ninja once kidnapped you as a child and you’ve been scarred from any decent taste as a result,” she replies distractedly, taking a new dress off the hanger and showing it to Steve. “What do you think about this?”

Steve very pointedly does not say that it reminds him of a cream puff.

It must show on his face, though, because Grace makes a face and puts it back.

“I really think Danny should be here,” Steve says again, because he has the feeling that this is going to end in shouting and tears – both when it comes to Steve. He tries to follow Grace as best as he can, but this place is more of a labyrinth than some actual mazes he’s had to get out of.

“What, so I can hear more lectures about how I’m too young to be getting married? I’m twenty-six,” she says, taking another two dresses off the hangers. “And Danno got married younger than I did.”

“And that marriage ended in a divorce,” Steve replies.

“So? He got married again, so that didn’t sour him of it,” she brightly replies. “And this time’s working out pretty well. I mean, fifteen years and going strong,” she says, nudging Steve with her elbow and trying to get them off the topic of her marrying too young, despite the fact that she’s been with the guy for five years. Steve’s pretty adamantly on her side, but getting Danny on board is sort of like trying to steer opposite poled magnets away from each other.

Steve sighs and leans into his fate, which usually is the best way to handle doing anything with a Williams in their name. He wanders through the rows and finds something a little sleeker than the dresses Grace has been grabbing. He has the idea that some of this traditional mindset is coming from grandmother, father, and numerous aunts on that side of the family.

“You know, you could surprise everyone and go with a beach wedding,” Steve suggests with a pointed look in her direction, handing over a sleek dress that will look good on a beach or in a church. “Sandals, if you even decide to do that. You could just as easily go barefoot,” Steve suggests.

“And watch Danno’s head explode? That’s your hobby, not mine,” Grace replies, giving him a look that says ‘nice try’. “I think I’ll stick to the traditional church wedding, like the one Dad didn’t get to have with you because you were too stubborn.”

Steve does suppose that he managed to get the wedding he’s suggesting for Grace and he defers to her with a respectful nod of his head. He helps with the dresses as she heads into a change room, accepting the glass of champagne that comes from the saleslady, who stays with him and clearly seems invested in their little family.

“So, are you the father?” she asks, while Grace is changing.

“Step,” Steve corrects, but just as proud of Grace as he could be. “I married her father a long time ago, but I’ve know Grace since she was barely more than a little sprout.”

“I heard that,” Grace calls out from the change room. “And bean sprout is still an _awful_ way to describe a person.”

“Not my fault you shot up like a beanstalk when you turned fifteen,” Steve replies innocently, smiling at the saleswoman. “By that point, I’d started to date her father, but I was still feeling a little awkward about joining the family. I thought she’d have my head the first time I used that nickname.”

The door to the change room opened and Grace stepped out wearing a corseted fitted wedding dress, her hands on her hips as she stares at Steve fondly.

“You looked so, so worried,” she recalls. “Like you thought I had the power to make Danno stop loving you.”

“That’s because you _do_ have that power,” Steve says knowingly. “All it would’ve taken was one bad word against me and I’m pretty sure Danny would’ve gone back to working with the police department, just to get away from me and make you happy.”

“Then you’re lucky I love you just as much as I love my Dad,” Grace says, smoothing her palms over the dress, peering up. “Well? What do you think?”

“Beautiful,” Steve says automatically.

The saleswoman smiles wryly, giving Grace a knowing look. “All fathers say that,” she warns.

“Yeah,” Grace agrees fondly. “I know.”


	15. Run To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 15 - Trying an Extreme Sport
> 
> _“Feeling weirdly light-headed and I’m pretty sure my lungs aren’t supposed to rattle like that,” Danny confesses. “You’d think my engine’s broken, huh?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. I'm house/dog sitting for the next week, so updates may be a touch more sporadic until I return to a normal schedule!

“For the last time, Danny, this is _not_ an extreme sport,” Steve complains as he waits on one of the steps for Danny to catch up to him. They’re doing a local set of stairs and it’s not even that bad. It’s four hundred steps to the top and once there, you get a great view of the bay, which gives Steve a good reason to run it. He’d really thought Danny could learn to appreciate the island a little more by joining him, but instead he’s huffing and puffing away on stair number one hundred and twenty. 

Steve sighs and jogs his way back down to where Danny is bent over, waving at Steve to continue on. He knows Danny is in decent shape, but apparently cardio over a long term is still a little bit of a problem. 

“Hey,” Steve murmurs softly, running his hand over Danny’s back as he listens to him wheeze. “Are you okay?” He’s starting to get genuinely concerned because Danny doesn’t sound very good. There’s a faint rattle with every breath and now Steve’s starting to worry that they’re at stair number one hundred and twenty and not closer to the bottom.

“Feeling weirdly light-headed and I’m pretty sure my lungs aren’t supposed to rattle like that,” Danny confesses. “You’d think my engine’s broken, huh?”

“You have been having some trouble sleeping,” Steve admits, keeping his hand on Danny’s shoulder as he makes up his mind about what’s happening next. He crouches down and without any warning, he swoops Danny up into his arms in a bridal carry. 

It’s made more impressive by the fact that Danny reacts like a flailing, writhing bag of rats. He’s definitely a squirmer.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Steve McGarrett, let me down before I kick your ass!” Danny bellows, letting pretty much everyone on the stairs in on their intimate little dispute that should probably be kept private. Steve ignores him thoroughly as he continues to climb down each one of the steps with Danny in his arms in this private little bridal carry that makes him feel like at least he has Danny safe and sound.

He digs out his phone around step fifty to make sure there’s going to be a paramedic waiting for them when they get to the bottom, jogging the last few steps when he gets a second wind. Danny’s quieted down somewhat, but the mumbling under his breath hasn’t stopped.

“He almost fainted and he’s not breathing very well,” Steve informs the paramedic before Danny can get a single word out. He doesn’t trust Danny not to lie and say he’s feeling better. While Steve might have his own history of being somewhat stubborn when it comes to his health, he refuses to let Danny suffer.

It takes another thirty minutes, but by the end, the paramedic is hauling out the oxygen tank and digging through her bag.

“Has Detective Williams ever had lung troubles before?”

Steve crosses his arms over his chest and nods, remembering the anthrax all too well. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing fatal,” she promises. “I’m going to give you this inhaler for him. It sounds like he has bronchitis that’s flaring a bit stronger than usual because of his prior complications. Have him take a few doses of this every day, and he ought to be fine.” She gives Steve a winning smile, clapping his shoulder to reassure him before she moves on to give them some privacy.

Steve drifts back to Danny, pressing the inhaler into his hand. “You get all that?”

“Yeah, yeah. Bronchitis, sick, exhausted,” he mutters. “I should’ve known going running with you was a mistake. Living life as your partner alone is an extreme sport, never mind all _this_ ,” he says with a gesture towards the stairs.

“Well, the good news is that even extreme sports get time-outs,” Steve promises, resting his hand protectively on Danny’s back. “And now’s the perfect time for one. I need you to get better, Danno.”

“Yeah? How come?”

“Because I don’t like playing without my partner,” Steve says, feeling relief swarm him when Danny gives him a squeeze of his hand and a promise in a smile. “Good,” is all Steve has to say. “We’re all good, then.”


	16. Wake Me Up Before You Go (Go)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 16 - During Their Morning Ritual
> 
> _Breakfast is usually whatever one of them is craving, though they take it in turns. Gone are the days when Steve would stomach some oatmeal and fruit before heading to work. Now, it’s eggs or pancakes or cereal or a fruit and oatmeal day._

Steve would never admit it, but after all his years in the Navy, he’s come to be the person he never thought he could be. It’s the person who follows a relaxed routine morning after morning and actually _likes_ it. He thinks it has a lot to do with the events in question, though. His alarm doesn’t go off at 5AM anymore because Danny hates to wake up before the sun rises.

And so they wake up whenever Danny decides to. Sometimes, it’s early and sometimes, the sun’s been up for ages. Only then does Steve get his swimsuit on for an early workout. If they’re up early, they grab the boards and head down to the beach for a quick surf. 

Breakfast is usually whatever one of them is craving, though they take it in turns. Gone are the days when Steve would stomach some oatmeal and fruit before heading to work. Now, it’s eggs or pancakes or cereal or a fruit and oatmeal day.

The point is that it’s never the same.

And the best part of that change is that Steve lives day to day with the unexpected thrill of waking up next to Danny and knowing that Danny’s going to make things new. Today is one of those unexpected days when he gets to know pretty quickly that things aren’t normal.

For one, Danny’s up before him and he’s already brushing his teeth like a maniac.

“I think if you brush any harder, they might actually fall out,” Steve warns warily, giving Danny a sleepy look as he rubs his eyes, checking the clock. Five AM, which is early even for him, so whatever’s happening must be pretty serious if Danny’s up this early. Steve braces himself and suppresses a yawn as best as he can, not feeling ready to be too coherent.

He sits back down on the bed so he can watch Danny go through his routine with his hair, and even though Steve usually likes to be the one to massage his fingers through it, he can live with watching. Eventually, Steve reaches for Danny’s cell phone while the morning routine continues, seeing the text messages from Max about a new body.

“How come they didn’t call me?” Steve asks through another yawn.

“It’s your day off, babe. Remember? You were gonna lounge and relax all day to prove to me that you could,” Danny finally speaks, his voice croaky and hoarse. The yawns are contagious from Steve as Danny fights to suppress it and loses the battle. “I told Max you’d probably be there right after me, but hey, he tried to respect your days off.”

Steve reclines back against the pillow as comfortably as he can, wondering what part of the routine he’s missed.

“Did you shower yet?” he asks, an edge of hope in his voice.

“Would I be doing my hair if I hadn’t showered?”

“Good point,” Steve replies, figuring he can blame that one on early morning brain. It’s disappointing, but it’s not the end of the world. “Did you take care of your business while you showered?”

“I got a dead body on a table, babe,” Danny says fondly. “Much as I’d love to get your hands or mouth on me, other things take priority right now.” He finishes with his hair and fixes the lapel of his shirt before he wanders closer to Steve, cupping his cheek. “I got time for a kiss. Is that acceptable?”

Steve makes a noise to assess, but eventually he nods and leans forward into Danny’s space for a sleep-fuelled kiss that’s no less warmth and exciting as all the rest, sending new fluttering sensations through Steve as if to wake him up after receiving a kiss like that. It’s only a shame that their routine is such a mess. Danny is off to the morgue and Steve should be getting back to bed.

But hey, who said he had to follow routine? He’s not in the Navy anymore and it won’t be the end of the world if he goes against expectations.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Steve says, crawling back into that all-too-comfortable bed with a pleased smile on his lips, already imagining what tonight’s dinner routine is going to look like. As ever, it will be unexpected and frantic and a little mad, but a lot wonderful. That’s all he’s ever wanted.


	17. Turn Out The Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 17 - Spooning
> 
> _Call him crazy, but there’s a part of him that actually kind of misses the spooning. Of course, he’d miss it more if Danny could figure out how to do it without actively injuring parts of Steve in the process. They lie there, curled up, for a long moment until a peal of giggles comes from the tent one over._

Steve has two elbows in his side, which he thinks is a physical impossibility given that Danny’s supposed to be sleeping with his arms stretched forward. This is what happens when neither of them check the instructions and end up with a tent that’s too small by a few feet. Steve had refused to put any of the scout troop out, which is why he’s currently suffering Danny’s limbs in his torso.

“I think this is considered torture in a few countries,” Steve huffs out when Danny adjusts and digs his elbow a little harder against his solar plexus.

“Here, let’s switch,” Danny suggests. “Front to front?”

Steve freezes up for a moment. It’s not like he and Danny haven’t fooled around before, but Grace is out there along with a whole troop of children with highly impressionable minds. Still, it’s a better solution than ending the night permanently bruised, so Steve shifts in order to get Danny aligned with him. 

Call him crazy, but there’s a part of him that actually kind of misses the spooning. Of course, he’d miss it more if Danny could figure out how to do it without actively injuring parts of Steve in the process. They lie there, curled up, for a long moment until a peal of giggles comes from the tent one over.

“Hey,” Danny calls over. “Lights out means quiet time!”

“Sorry, Mr. Williams,” a chorus of recalcitrant girls echo. 

“You know that means you doomed us to quiet, too,” Steve whispers after they reshuffle, causing the sleeping bag to move and rustle with the fabric’s movement. He knows that Danny being quiet is a rare treat and he shouldn’t be scaring it away, but he can’t help the amused smile when he thinks of how the situation will turn out.

Danny gets this glint in his eye, though, that says Steve’s missed something.

“What?” he asks warily. “What’s that look? What is it?”

Which is about all he gets out before Danny slides forward to close the space between them and prove that there’s much more to do than just _talk_ when it comes to what mouths can do. Steve lets out a muffled sound, but apparently that’s too much, because Danny makes a chiding noise and kisses him again, like he’s trying to shut Steve up.

As if the tables are seriously that reversed.

Steve doesn’t even manage to close his eyes, so shocked by this turn of events, but eventually he gets on board. He leans into Danny’s body, breathing out deeply and kissing him while ignoring the rest of the world around them. Gasping, his eyes fly open when Danny’s nails dig a little too hard into his side. 

Of course, it’s probably for the best, given that it forces Steve to look to where their tent has been zipped open and four sets of curious eyes are peering inside.

“We heard weird noises,” one of the girls admits. “And thought maybe someone was in distress.”

Danny lets out a huff of amusement, even though Steve doesn’t feel so charitable. In fact, he sort of feels like he must look pretty red in the face, given the position the girls have found them both in. Lucky for Steve, Danny seems all too eager to answer this one, which means he pats Steve on the back and gives the girls a winning smile.

“He was just coughing up something, just giving him a little mouth to mouth.”

The girls all exchange looks and it’s pretty clear that they don’t believe them, but also don’t want to press and ask questions – thank god for all of them – and so, they’re able to get their privacy back when the girls go back to their tents. 

“So uh…”

“Yeah,” Steve cuts him off. “Lights out means quiet time,” he agrees wryly.

They settle in for the night, but it at least means that no one dies of embarrassment and that’s really the best case scenario for everyone involved.


	18. Better Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 18 - Doing Something Together
> 
> _“All right, all right!” Danny protests. “I will give up my weekend and come help with your stupid garage that I may or may not have put a hole in with my Camaro.”_
> 
> _“Really?” Chin asks dubiously. “Because there’s footage of you doing it.”_

The car that punched the hole in Steve’s garage is _technically_ Danny’s fault. 

For some strange reason, Steve seems unwilling to let it go. For weeks, it keeps sneaking into conversation, at which point Steve throws a pointed look in Danny’s direction. Then he starts talking loudly about hiring someone to fix it this and the neighbors are complaining that, and it all gets to the point that Danny folds.

“All right, all right!” Danny protests. “I will give up my weekend and come help with your stupid garage that I may or may not have put a hole in with my Camaro.”

“Really?” Chin asks dubiously. “Because there’s footage of you doing it.”

“In pursuit of a suspect.”

“That was on the hood of your car.”

Danny gives Chin a pointed glower, given that he’d _thought_ they all had an agreement not to point out when one of the team pulls something particularly Steve McGarrett-esque on the insanity scale. This falls right in those bounds. Still, now he’s admitted to it, offered his help, and has witnesses who can attest to it.

He’s doomed.

That’s how Danny loses his Saturday and Sunday working with lumber because apparently once the garage door has been paid for and fixed, now there’s all other sorts of problems with Steve’s house that he _conveniently_ remembered at this exact point in time. Like the beams that need reinforcing or the fact that the lanai needs a few things replaced.

That’s how it ends up high noon and Danny’s stripping off his shirt to mop his face with it, panting like the hard-working dog he is, not sure he remembers the last time he worked so hard. “You know,” he says to Steve. “Most people just hire a contractor.” At least Steve is plying him with beer. If he didn’t do that, he’d be a real monster.

He accepts the bottle Steve holds out, sinking back into one of the reclining chairs on the beach. “Danny, we’ve still got work to do.”

“What? No,” Danny protests. “We fixed your garage and your living room and your lanai. What possible work could be left, huh?” He punctuates his complaint with a pull of his beer, stretching out his toes to show Steve how much he just wants to relax.

Steve has a beer in his hand and though he has a serious look on his face, there’s something glinting in his eyes – something that reads to Danny a lot like mischief. “It’s upstairs,” he explains. “I could use your opinion.”

“There’s something upstairs that could use my opinion,” Danny echoes. “That’s a bit vague, Steven. Maybe use a few more words? More details?”

Steve’s starting to go a little pink, which means Danny’s probably going to like where this goes. Then again, he always has liked when Steve’s cheeks go just a little pink. “Mary uh, she complained the last time she was visiting that the bedsprings are creaking, so every time I moved, she got woken up.”

“So you want me to come look at your bedsprings?” Danny clarifies, smirking as he waves his beer in the direction of the second floor. “Bounce on ‘em a little? Put them to the test?”

“Yeah, I mean, if you’ve got some time,” Steve rolls with it, refusing to let Danny push him past the edge. He’s not breaking and Danny’ll give him some credit for that. “I figure we might as well test out what Mary will be hearing the next time she and Joan come over.” And like that, there’s Smooth Dog all over again, charming his way into Danny’s pants with his words and his stupid earnest face and clever words.

“Did you wait until I was half naked for that bit?” Danny wonders, setting his beer into the sand so he can sling his arm around Steve’s waist, leading him inside.

“You have no idea how long I waited. I even cranked up the heat inside,” Steve complains.

“I thought something was up.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get the rest of those clothes off you very soon,” Steve says.

“In that case, I’m happy to fix any spring issues. Better go test them.”

And Danny is nothing if not _thorough_.


	19. I'll Dress You in Formalwear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 19 - In Formal Wear
> 
> _He watches Steve get bid on for a figure that could roughly put Grace through her first year of college and yeah, so Danny kind of hates it, but it’s for a good cause._

“Why is it that suddenly Governor Denning is all about the auctions?” Danny wonders, picking up a shrimp puff from a passing waiter. This is the third one in two months and look, he’s not a numbers guy at all, but he understands financial issues better than anyone. This many auctions kind of reek of ‘we’re having some debt issues and please pay for things to help us out’. 

Kono shifts her shawl over her shoulders. “They work,” she says brightly. “Besides, I think this one’s a pretty good idea.”

Danny sighs and tries not to agree (even though he does). After all, Denning has put together a great line-up of local philanthropists, athletes, celebrities, and public figures. He’s dressed them all to the nines, and then lined them up to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

The only trouble is that Danny’s not sure whether his irritation comes from the fact that he wasn’t asked or that Steve _was_ and Danny has nowhere near the funds to pay for him, especially not when old Mrs. Lyttle has got her purse open and her cataracts fixed on Steve. Danny’s scowling, jealous, and none of this is a pretty look on him, which is saying something because Danny’s a very pretty man.

He watches Steve get bid on for a figure that could roughly put Grace through her first year of college and yeah, so Danny kind of hates it, but it’s for a good cause.

He keeps repeating that to himself, seeing as it’s the only thing keeping him from wandering up to Steve and marking his territory like some kind of dog pissing on its area. He keeps his head up and applauds when Chin makes his way onto the stage in a smart suit, next. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he pays more attention to Steve in his gorgeous suit than anything else.

And, of course, because he likes to torture himself, he watches the way Mrs. Lyttle keeps pawing Steve like she’s looking for her glasses inside his coat.

“Danny,” Kono says gently. “I’m pretty sure the Governor is going to start thinking you’re not enjoying yourself, given that look on your face.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m not enjoying myself,” he retorts, smoothing his fingers over his pants because it’s better than the alternative of running them over Steve’s pants (and he absolutely knows it’s not the better choice of the two, but what option does he have? He’s not going to be a crazy person who bursts in between the two of them and act like a jealous caveman; that’s Steve’s specialty, after all). “It’s not my fault I can’t afford to pay for him,” he complains.

“Pay for who?”

“You, because you’re sort of like Pretty Woman tonight,” Danny says, before he can get the filter up so he doesn’t say idiotic things like that too loudly. “Where’s your handsy friend?”

“Esther? She’s getting us champagne,” Steve says, coolly amused by the looks of the smile on his lips. “You jealous, Danno?”

Danny smirks and says nothing at all because he doesn’t want to give Steve the satisfaction of being right about this. Instead, he just gestures to Steve’s tie. “You’re crooked.”

“Thanks,” Steve murmurs. “I can always count on you to point out when I’m not straight.” He smirks right back at Danny, turning the charm on when Mrs. Lyttle joins their little circle and starts talking about her beautiful nieces and nephews and how they’re such good contributors to the community and basically, Danny is starting to feel like a jackass for being jealous of a sweet little old lady.

So he lets it go, for now.

Still, when he gets home later on that night and finds Steve’s tie hanging off the bedroom door knob, he can’t help the way his heart starts racing a little faster. He trails the fabric with his fingers and draws it up and over his shoulder, peering into the bedroom to find Steve splayed out in nothing but a pair of obscenely tight briefs.

“Esther didn’t want to get in on this, huh?” Danny deadpans, managing to keep a straight face.

“She sent me home to my good-looking boyfriend, considering she was worried about how upset you looked all night,” Steve replies, leaning his cheek on his hand. “You gonna come here and take advantage or do I have to go find the runner up?”

Seeing as how the runner up was Lou with some ridiculous spare cash flow, there’s no way Danny’s about to lose his boyfriend to fly fishing or whatever other stupid idea he could be prone to engaging in. Danny throws the tie aside and crawls into bed after Steve, more than happy that all the formalwear has been given up in exchange for what Steve looks best in – absolutely nothing at all.


	20. Pull Shapes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 20 - Dancing
> 
> _“I forgot my watermelon!” he shouts above the music._

“I’m twenty years too old for this and the music is hurting my retinas!” Danny shouts, but no one hears him. In fact, Kono just nods encouragingly as she drapes her arm around Adam’s neck as he pulls her back onto the dance floor. Mindy is off chatting with Ellie at the bar with martinis and Chin has managed to find himself a quiet corner to have a conversation with the waitress.

This is the last time he lets group decision be their choice of celebration.

He glares at Steve, who’s doing nothing more than getting him a beer. Still, it’s Steve who’s at fault because he’d been the one who joked about coming here and everyone had latched on _seriously_.

“Hey!” Danny shouts above the music. “I hate you!”

“I love you too, Danno,” Steve shouts back, and he’s just close enough that he absolutely heard what Danny had to say. Steve reaches out to hook his fingers into the loops of Danny’s pants, which is probably a sign that things are about to go downhill, but Danny has no idea how right he is until suddenly he’s being dragged into the middle of the crowd and all the young bodies.

He was too old for this twenty years ago and suddenly he’s practically a grandfather standing in the middle of gyrations and a ridiculous amount of skin.

What’s also ridiculous is the way Steve is staring at him, like he’s expecting something out of Danny, except Danny doesn’t have a damn clue what it is.

“I forgot my watermelon!” he shouts above the music.

He’s met with confusion and that just breaks Danny’s goddamn heart.

“Are you serious?” he says, but when Steve doesn’t seem to hear him, Danny’s forced to lean in on his toes and get real close to Steve’s ear in order to have this conversation with him. “If you’ve honestly never seen Dirty Dancing in your life, I got a Saturday afternoon lined up for you,” he warns, because Rachel had forced Danny to sit through it and Grace had all too happily followed in her mother’s footsteps.

Steve’s giving Danny one of those hopeless little looks that look best at home on a puppy’s face, but manage to seem in the right place when Steve looks like that too. 

Sighing, Danny decides there’s only one way to save this. He reaches for Steve’s hands and places them on his hips, one at a time, figuring he might look like a father with no rhythm, but he might as well benefit by having the hottest guy in the entire place attached to him while the music plays. He’s pretty sure he sees a few flashbulbs of camera-phones going off and knows he’s entirely too sober for this kind of blackmail, but it’s worth it when he sees Steve’s reserve start to melt away.

Plus, that private little smile of delight on Steve’s lips is _entirely_ worth four dances like this.

Eventually, Danny gets tired of looking like an idiot (because no, he has never been half as good at dancing as he wishes he was). He grabs Steve’s hand and leads him off the floor for a round of shots, ignoring the way Steve gets hit on at least four times between point A and point B. 

“You got a lot of offers there, babe,” Danny points out. “You really don’t want to spend the whole night sitting around with an old guy like me, do you?” 

Steve gives Danny a fond look, practically brimming over with it. “Danny, that’s the only thing about tonight that’s making me stay.” He reaches out to give Danny’s hand a short, reassuring, warm squeeze that has Danny’s heart skipping a beat or two as he wonders what the hell he did to get this lucky.

“I should’ve put some moves on you earlier, huh?” he laughs. “But hey, you’re not getting out of the Dirty Dancing with all this sweet talk.” After all, Danny’s kind of counting on Steve going full Swayze when he’s through watching and that’s the kind of thought you don’t want to just give up on without trying.

Steve nods, extending his hand to Danny. “On one condition.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“One more dance.”


	21. Mother Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 21 - Baking
> 
> _“It’s very nice that you’re doing this for Danny,” Clara says._
> 
> _Which is good and all, but Steve senses there’s more to it._
> 
> _“But isn’t this something that girlfriend of his should do?”_

Steve’s got the phone cradled to his shoulder, the oven going, and Clara Williams on the phone from so many miles away. With Grace away at summer camp, Danny’s been in a mood even though he’s quick to protest that he’s fine. It had been fine until he’d snapped at Kono today about her paperwork and if Steve doesn’t do something about it soon, the whole office is prone to being destroyed in the turf war.

“This doesn’t seem right,” Steve admits, staring down at the goopy mess in the bowl. “Are you sure this is right?”

“I promise, this is the recipe for Danny’s favorite cookie. I’m sure you’re doing fine, Steven,” Clara says idly, her tone implying that she’s only half paying him attention, which he thinks is a pretty big mistake seeing as he’d never exactly been known for his baking skills in the Navy or the SEALs or really anywhere since home ec when he’d managed a brownie, once upon a time. 

He stares down at the chocolate-laden mess again, stirring it one more time. 

“Did you add the flour yet?”

“No,” Steve realizes with relief, turning to find the bowl of flour and other dry components sitting just out of sight beyond the chopped up almonds that’ll go in the biscotti once he’s finished with this. He has no idea if this batch will work, but he’s bought enough ingredients to try this at least three times, which means he’s got a long night ahead of him if this doesn’t work. “Okay, it’s starting to look better,” he promises, after another long bout of silence.

“It’s very nice that you’re doing this for Danny,” Clara says.

Which is good and all, but Steve senses there’s more to it.

“But isn’t this something that girlfriend of his should do?”

Steve doesn’t know if he should mention that Amber isn’t really part of Danny’s life anymore. He’s not really sure it’s his place to say that, but he does know he feels no issue sharing his own life, so he clears his throat and stares down into the bowl of mix that’ll become one of Danny’s favorite things.

“I like making your son happy, Mrs. Williams,” he says with all the politeness he can muster. It’s a good idea not to make a bad impression, especially right now. He feels like he’s just given away all of his feelings and judging by the silence on the other end of the call, he’s probably not imagining the fact that she’s calling him on it (so to speak). 

He breathes out and wonders if this is something they’re going to talk about, because he really does need to get the cookies into the oven.

“You’re good for him, Steve. I saw that,” she promises. “Don’t run around in circles trying to prove that to anyone. Just love my son in whatever way you can,” she says. “That’s all his mother needs. And take some pictures of his face when he tries those cookies for the first time in years,” she adds. “I always like a little blackmail on my boy.”

“You’ve got it, Mrs. Williams,” Steve promises.

“ _Clara_ ,” she corrects, sighing plaintively. “You make me feel so old.”

She lets him go so that he can focus on the cookies, which Steve does with every attention to detail – caring and slow and careful as he makes sure he doesn’t burn the cookies or ruin them. He wraps them in wax paper and ties them with ribbon, setting them on Danny’s desk at the office.

From there, he hides just out of sight with his camera charged and ready to go. When Danny comes in, the curiosity on his face is almost worth the effort alone (not to mention the way he pokes at them with the end of his pencil), but when he opens them up and reads the card, when he takes the first bite and his whole face melts into bliss, Steve knows that he would bake these ten times over for the same reaction.

He takes the pictures he needs and smiles warmly, knowing that no matter how Danny thanks him, that look on his face had made all of this so very worth it.


	22. Truce or Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 22 - Side by side in battle
> 
> _“See?” Steve says. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”_
> 
> _“You ruined their nest and made them swear revenge!”_
> 
> This one's a one-off from my [Howling](http://archiveofourown.org/series/51908) series, in which Danny is an immortal, Steve's a werewolf and life is so very complicated.

“Look, I’m not trying to tell you your business…”

“And yet, this sounds a lot like you are,” Steve cuts Danny off, growling when one of the harpies tries to pick him up and take him soaring into the sky. He might have served a lot of armies, navies, and other military organizations over the years, but he’s not exactly fond of heights. He thinks it’s the wolf in him. “Danny, I swear to god, if you say I told you so, I will cut your head off and unmate us myself.”

“Hey!” Danny snaps. “Not so much with the eakness-way in front of the arpies-hay!”

“As if we didn’t know?” the one slashing her sharp nails in Danny’s direction retorts. “You’re not exactly subtle here on the island. Everyone knows the immortal and wolf pair.”

“See?” Steve says. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You ruined their nest and made them swear revenge!”

“So we could get to the crime scene!” Steve says, slamming one of the harpies against a blunt rock and knocking her out. “I would’ve thought that would make you happy!” He doesn’t exactly know how to please Danny most days, but the usual go-to is pretty much always ‘let Danny solve a crime’. Danny’s pushing five hundred soon and Steve’s pretty old himself, but he’s always clung to the things that work.

“We surrender!” Steve shouts, falling to his knees and closing his eyes tightly, praying this works. “We surrender, we apologize.”

“We?” Danny hisses.

Steve reaches out and slams his fist into Danny’s side, hearing the ‘oof’ and knowing he’ll pay for that later, but right now he wants to make sure there is a later to even discuss. The last thing he wants is for Danny’s head to come off or for any bit of silver to start flaying him. This is his mess and it’s his responsibility to get them out of it. 

The chaos around them seems to subside, which Steve is taking as a good sign. When he peeks an eye open, though, the harpies are still staring at them with their golden eyes burning with hate, their wings unfurled at their full span with sharp ivory tucked between the feathers (sharp enough to kill anyone). 

“We don’t often truth those who intrude on our nest.”

“Then don’t trust us. Work with us, let us _prove_ that we’re trustworthy,” Steve negotiates.

“ _And_ ,” Danny cuts in, “what the big lunk hasn’t told you is that we could really use your help. This is your territory and if someone had ever met a harpie before, he’d know that you ask consent first before trampling on their territory. Not that trying to kill me is justifiable revenge,” he clarifies. “But yeah, what he said. Work with us, let us show you we’re not your enemies. If you still want us dead at the end, we’ll go to a tribunal with the Governor.”

One of the harpies makes a face, her red hair gleaming against her pale skin. “Pixies and harpies don’t get along.”

“Then a neutral judge,” Danny offers. “Look, anything you want.”

“Yeah?” Steve offers hopefully.

The ensuing silent conversation they have with each other telepathically are some of the longest minutes of Steve’s life, but eventually some of the anger seems to bleed out of the air around them and Steve no longer smells danger so pressingly. He knows that they came really close there and that he’d acted on instinct, but it’s always worked out for them before.

The three of them nod and fly away quickly, the leader turning around as her wings beat a heavy thrum into the air. “We’ll fly on ahead and begin.”

“Don’t contaminate the crime scene!” Danny shouts after them, but they’re already gone.

It’s almost a shame they had to go, because now all of Danny’s irritation is focused on Steve. 

“I’m sorry?”

Danny gives Steve a long look. “Next time, you consult with me or Rachel,” he warns. “You might be over two hundred years old, but the lone wolf thing isn’t so figurative,” he points out. “How about trusting some people who are engrained in the fabric of these things? Huh?” He pokes at Steve’s shoulder as hard as he can before dragging himself to his feet. “C’mon, let’s go. We’ve got a crime scene to work on.”


	23. Fight Like The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 23 - Arguing
> 
> _“I’d feel better if you and Steve made up,” Charlie admits._

At six, Charlie has become accustomed to a lively house, with noise in every corner through every part of the day. Whenever he’s stayed here over the last four years, he’s always felt safe, happy, and comfortable. Tonight, though, is a whole different kind of noise and it’s one that’s making him anxious.

“Danny, I swear to god, this isn’t what I want to talk about…”

“You never do, huh! You never want to talk!”

Charlie curls up on himself, burying his forehead against his knee as hard as he can, taking in a shaky breath as he worries that this kind of fighting is _different_ from the playful fights he used to hear – the kind that were always affectionate underneath it all. Ever since Rachel and Stan had moved back to the mainland, he’d been staying here with Danno and Uncle Steve a lot more and usually it’s been fine, but right now there’s a chill to the air that feels angry and something that Charlie doesn’t understand. He curls the stuffed bunny in his arms and wishes that Grace were here to explain why they get so angry and sound like this.

Something crashes into the wall and Charlie, unbidden, makes a shocked cry of distress.

Things go very quiet after that, to the point that Charlie starts to worry he’s done something wrong. He hears hushed voices and catches his name, but then there are creeping footsteps and Danno’s standing at the door, his shadow casting into the room.

“Hey buddy,” Danno says tenderly and softly. “I didn’t know you were awake.”

“I wasn’t,” Charlie admits, rubbing his fist against his eye. “Loud noises woke me up.”

“Maybe those loud noises were me and Uncle Steve arguing?” Danny suggests as he comes into the room, perching on the edge of the bed. Charlie nods and Danno reaches over to start stroking Charlie’s back the way he always does when Charlie’s upset and needs something to make him feel better. “I’m sorry, kiddo.”

“Why are you so mad?” Charlie asks.

“Sometimes, when two people really love each other, they also really hate little things about them,” Danny says. “And tonight, I got really upset that your Uncle Steve had gone out and done something without me. That’s important to me because we’re partners,” he says. “And especially after all of these years, I want that to mean that he trusts me.”

“Is that why he yelled back?”

“Yeah,” Danny agrees wryly. “He says he always trusts me, but there are some things he doesn’t want me to be burdened with.”

Charlie makes a face, not entirely understanding the word.

“It means he doesn’t want me to be upset or sad or mad,” Danny clarifies. “We’re okay, though. People fight, but it doesn’t mean they love each other any less. We’re not ever going to have to leave and even if Steve is mad at me, he could never, not ever be angry with you,” he promises. “Hey?” he softly, tenderly asks, ruffling Charlie’s hair. “We good?”

“I’d feel better if you and Steve made up,” Charlie admits.

Danny peers out to the hallway where there’s a Steve-shaped shadow lurking just outside the door. He smiles, with the understanding of a man who knows what happens from here.

“For you, Charlie? I’m gonna do my best,” Danny vows, kissing the top of his head. “Now, come on, bedtime for munchkins,” he says, tucking Charlie back into bed before heading back to where his and Steve’s argument has been paused.

Steve leans too-casually against the wall, overcompensating for his nerves. “Are we gonna go back to fighting?”

Danny shakes his head. “Nah. Let’s just have some terse conversations over coffee and get to the part where we’re making up.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”


	24. I'm Hearing What You're Saying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 24 - Making Up Afterwards
> 
> _“There was a moment when I kind of honestly thought you were really done with me,” Steve admits, lifting his wary gaze to face Danny. “There was something there that wasn’t usually, some look in your eye and I thought, genuinely thought, that I’d walk in to find your resignation letter on my desk.”_

Things in Danny’s life are starting to get a little suspicious. Sure, things have been tense lately ever since Steve actually got Five-0 on the news by crashing Danny’s car into the mayor’s office, but it’s sad that Danny’s in a place where he kind of expects that to be the normal status quo. What gets weird is after, when suddenly gift-wrapped items start appearing on Danny’s desk.

First, it’s just a box from his favourite bakery stuffed to the brim with sugar-sprinkled, deep-fried confectionary heavens. That could be anyone. In fact, in Danny’s ideal workplace, these show up on his desk once a week. Then there are the really nice shirts that have been tailored to fit him that turn up on his desk a few days later.

And even that’s not crazy. His mother’s sent him nicer gifts and she already knows Danny’s favorite places to go. She could be missing her kid and sending him a gift.

It starts getting a little weird when gift certificates for massages start popping up. 

That’s when Danny starts to consider maybe there’s a stalker who has access to his desk. What he hadn’t counted on was the fact that he really should have suspected that the gifts have been coming from inside the house. 

He catches Steve in the act when he comes in early, finding that Steve’s managed to sneak a signed copy of Bon Jovi’s first CD on his desk.

“Should I even ask where you got that from?” he wonders, giving Steve a pointed look. “Babe, I appreciate the gifts, but I gotta know. What’s so different this time? What makes this one thing that you did so much worse than the rest?”

“The truth?” Steve asks, pointedly avoiding Danny’s gaze.

“You know me. I love the truth. Hit me,” Danny encourages.

“There was a moment when I kind of honestly thought you were really done with me,” Steve admits, lifting his wary gaze to face Danny. “There was something there that wasn’t usually, some look in your eye and I thought, genuinely thought, that I’d walk in to find your resignation letter on my desk.” He shrugs, looking baleful and nothing like the grown man he actually is. “And then every day since, it hasn’t come and I figured I should keep doing what I’m doing.”

“Steve, it’s been five years,” Danny sighs, a bit tired but knowing he owes Steve the truth. “If I were gonna leave you because you crashed my car into someone’s office, I would’ve done it the first time and not the fourth.”

And yes, he’s been counting.

“So, yeah, the gifts have been nice. The massage, that was a bit weird…”

Steve rubs a hand through his hair, shrugging as his smile turns slightly more mischievous. “It came up on my daily coupons and I figured you could use the stress relief.”

“How about don’t gimme stress?” Danny points out. “Huh? Start there.”

“So, we’re good?” Steve ventures, sounding tentative still, but a little more relieved.

“When we’re bad, you’ll know,” Danny promises, ambling forward to pull Steve into an embrace, pressing their foreheads together. “I love you, babe, and that means I love all the crazy. So, so much crazy,” he sighs, shaking his head. “Just, you know, do me a favor and try and contain it a little? I don’t think there’s enough massages on the island to relieve that kind of habitual stress.”

“I can try,” Steve promises, huffing out a fond laugh that Danny feels pressed against his skin.


	25. Can't Get Enough Of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 25 - Gazing into each others' eyes
> 
>  
> 
> _Steve nods with that stubborn SEAL determination he’s so good at. Then, more blinks that are so precise and sharp that they have to be Morse._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone who's been reading along. I regret to say that I'm about to head off on a 10 day trip to Europe, so sadly I will not be posting for a little while. I hope to get back to it when I return, however!

Bound, kneeling, and without water for nearly two days now, Danny thinks he might be starting to hallucinate. Their kidnappers had shoved he and Steve into positions that have them staring into one another’s eyes, but the trouble is that Danny’s pretty damn sure that he’s developing the ability to read Steve’s mind based on an eye tic or two.

Clearly, this is water and food deprivation.

That, or Steve really is blinking in Morse code at him and just told Danny that they’re going to attempt escape the next time one of the guards comes in to do his rounds and check on the prisoners. Sweat drips down Danny’s face as he wonders whether he’s honestly gone around the bend, but if anyone’s going to read Steve’s mind, he guesses it’d be him.

“Hey,” he gets out, barely audible. They might not be gagged, but there’s constant supervision and the last time the guards didn’t approve of how much talking they were doing, Danny got a black eye. “You okay?”

Steve nods with that stubborn SEAL determination he’s so good at. Then, more blinks that are so precise and sharp that they have to be Morse.

Except, Danny knows Morse (Steve had forced him to learn) and is Steve telling him that if something happens, he’s glad they met because Danny is the best thing in his life? He sort of feels like he’s going insane. 

He doesn’t have time to think about his brain slowly degrading in a pit of crazy juice because before Danny can ask what the hell Steve’s meaning to communicate with his eyeballs, the place around them explodes in noise and light, their trusty rescuers rushing in to prevent them from staying captive any longer.

“Clear,” sounds Kono from the corner. 

“Clear here, too,” Chin says, untying Danny’s ropes. “About time we found you. We were starting to worry the two of you had run off.”

“What, and not leave a note? We’re not heathens,” Danny huffs, rubbing his wrists as he stares at Steve, wondering what the hell had been happening while they’d been positioned to do nothing but stare at each other for so long. Sure, yeah, it gives a guy time to think and Danny’s pretty sure he had a lot of thoughts about how beautiful Steve’s eyes are and how much Danny likes looking at ‘em, but not when he’s forced to do it.

Truth be told, this whole situation is fucked up and he’s kind of glad they’re getting out of it.

He doesn’t get to really think about it until a few days later, when they’re alone. “Hey,” he says, glancing up from where he’s been staring at the fading marks on his wrists. “That thing, in the warehouse, when we were looking at each other and I asked if you were okay…”

“You understood, right?”

“Yeah, I understood,” Danny replies, amazed and boggled at how Steve is treating this like it’s normal or something. “It was kind of fatalistic for you, babe. I’m used to you giving me the rah-rah speech and suddenly, you’re acting like it’s all over?”

“I might have been a little out of it. We weren’t exactly being treated very well, Danno,” Steve points out. “And I was looking at you, I mean, _constantly_ looking at you and I guess I started to think that if I were gonna go out of this world, then I’m glad you and I would go out together. Because you really are one of the best things in my life that happened down the barrel of a gun.”

“Should I be worried there are other good things that happened down a barrel of a gun?” Danny wonders.

“Only if your self-esteem needs the boost,” Steve says, sliding in to gently caress his thumb over Danny’s bruised wrist. “You feeling okay? I mean, normally when we get kidnapped, we’re out of there quicker.”

“With those eyes of yours to stare into?” Danny replies, heart soaring to think that he’s the best thing in someone’s life other than Gracie. He nods, feeling like he might not have said it in words today, but he hopes that Steve understands how much he feels it. “With you, babe, I’m always good.”


	26. Play Pretend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 26 - Getting Married
> 
>  
> 
> _Steve had figured he had some time. He’d even asked Catherine how quickly you can make a move after someone gets dumped and her strict instructions had been ‘not for at least a month’. And now Danny’s getting married._

“I’m sorry, Danny’s where?” Steve asks. 

He hasn’t even put down his suitcase from his trip to California and Chin’s telling him that Danny is at some altar getting _married_ to someone? Steve’s been gone for exactly seven days and when he left, Danny was still trying to nurse a broken heart from Melissa breaking up with him over secrets being kept. 

Steve had figured he had some time. He’d even asked Catherine how quickly you can make a move after someone gets dumped and her strict instructions had been ‘not for at least a month’. And now Danny’s getting married. 

“Steve, it’s…”

“If you say it’s Rachel, I’m gonna wonder what kind of drugs someone’s slipped him,” Steve cuts him off, pacing around the office and already debating how quickly he can clear the streets in order to rush to Danny’s side and stop this ill-advised wedding. He wonders if calling in a police escort to stop the wedding would be viewed as too much or maybe just enough. He decides not to go with that because (and only because) he can only imagine the rant he’s in for when Danny gets wind of the crazy Steve’s indulging in.

Kono and Chin exchange a look and he swears there’s a hint of amusement there, like something about this is _funny_.

“It’s a case, Steve,” Kono says warmly. “While you were gone, we picked up on a ring of men and women targeting newly widowed and rich people. Danny’s posing as the sad widower, newly in love with Natalia.”

“A case,” Steve echoes, dubiously.

“It’s completely a case,” Chin promises.

“So there isn’t a priest legally wedding Danny right now?”

The next look that Chin and Kono exchange doesn’t look so sure and oh, there goes all of Steve’s sense when it comes to dismissing that police escort. He nods, firmly, and decides that he’s going after Danny right this second and maybe he won’t put the sirens on (they are working a case, after all), but he’s definitely running the lights.

Duke helps lead him to the church and Steve takes a quick look at his hair in the reflection to make sure he doesn’t look completely out of place at a little chapel. One quick glance inside shows that the place is filled to the brim with cops (and Lou’s there, so Steve relaxes just slightly that a black widow isn’t about to put a needle filled with air between Danny’s fingers while they’re getting married).

He even waits until the bust goes down, which is pretty advanced for Steve. Years ago, he would’ve busted through the door with a battering ram, a pair of cuffs, and possibly a grenade or two on his belt. Now, he just leans against the wedding chapel as casually as he can, watching the police lead away the ring. Danny’s the last one out, having already tugged his bowtie loose.

He stops, clearly surprised to see Steve. “I thought you were coming back tomorrow,” he says.

“Nope, today.”

“You change your trip or something?”

“It’s always been today, Danno,” Steve replies patiently, reaching out to tug the bowtie off of Danny’s shirt. “I hear you’ve been playing a lonely widower. How quickly did you volunteer for that one?”

“You were out of town,” Danny says with a shrug. “A guy gets lonely, what can I say?”

“So I was the deceased husband?” Steve laughs warmly, beyond glad to be home even if for a moment, he’d honestly thought Danny was about to get married to someone else. He tugs the bowtie loose from Danny’s shoulder. “Feel like getting out of here? I know a place you can get a good slice of pizza after a wedding gone wrong.”

“Hey, why not? The rest of my life just opened up,” Danny says and Steve takes that as a promise.


	27. Happy birthday to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 27 - On One of Their Birthdays
> 
> _“You’re gonna blow up whole bits of the island for fifty, aren’t you?”_

“You weren’t supposed to do anything.”

Normal people say those words while fawning over the presents they’re given. Normal people say that with a trace of affection in their voice. Normal people would appreciate things, but apparently Danny does not anywhere resemble normal, because he’s looking at Steve with icy murder in his eyes, so Steve’s the bad guy for buying balloons, flowers, and a card. He sets them down on Danny’s desk, breathing out slowly.

“Okay,” Steve says, willing to pick this fight. “Why am I the bad guy?”

“It’s my fortieth birthday.”

“Yeah, and I got you a card and balloons and flowers,” Steve says defensively.

“We were going to ignore my fortieth birthday.”

“Danny, I know you said you wanted to ignore it, but there’s only one time that you turn forty and I really didn’t want it to go by without us paying attention to it,” Steve reasons, reaching over to pull him back into his arms, bowing his head down to press the slowest and steadiest of kisses to Danny’s skin as it’s presented to him. “It’s only gonna get worse, you know.”

“You’re gonna blow up whole bits of the island for fifty, aren’t you?”

Steve smirks against Danny’s neck, knowing that he’s being goaded into this, but he can’t help playing along. “I personally think reading ‘I love you Danny’ would look great on the cliffs,” he says, as sensibly as he can when he’s trying his best not to smile and give everything away. He prods at Danny lightly. “Come on, there’s seriously just a balloon, some flowers, and a card. Maybe some reservations at your favorite restaurant.”

“Now you’re just trying to butter me up.”

“I’ve learned a lot about you in our years together,” Steve agrees. “Besides, you have to let me treat the hottest forty-year old around here with respect.”

“I resent that,” Chin calls out from the main room.

“He’s right, babe, he’s the hottest forty year old and then some,” Danny admits with a hapless shrug of his shoulders. He makes a big show of sighing, throwing his hands up in the air like he’s at his wit’s end, like the frustration has really gotten to him this time. “All right,” he admits, but he’s already grinning like an idiot and Steve knows that he’d won this battle a long time ago.

“All right?” Steve says, buoyed with excitement. “We can go to dinner?”

“We can go get dinner and you can pay a ridiculous amount of money so I can eat steak and drink good scotch,” Danny agrees. “And then later on tonight, you can make me feel better by showing me that forty doesn’t mean my flexibility goes out the window.”

“I don’t think that was ever in question.”

“So?” Danny smirks. “Let’s work on it anyway.”

Danny subjects himself to dinner. He lets Steve woo him in all the ways that he’d fussed about, and he even lets Steve buy him a rose when dessert is being cleared. It’s awful and romantic and is basically every single thing Danny tries to avoid, especially on birthdays that mean something. The funny thing is, though, that he doesn’t entirely mind it.

He says as much when Steve drives them home for the night.

“It’s because we’re together,” Steve replies matter-of-factly, like he’s known the key all along and it’s just taken until now for him to share it. “All your birthdays and anniversaries are going to mean something, Danno, because they mean something to me.”

“So I’d better get used to it?”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, pinning Danny against the door. “You’re damn right you’d better get used to it, because this is the rest of your life.”


	28. Baby, It's Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 28 - Doing Something Ridiculous
> 
> _“Tempting as that had been, I kind of like you the way you are.” Danny steps back, pushing the cape back with both hands. “No, this is more about you getting even. You get a little embarrassed in front of a lot of people, so I figure maybe I should get a little embarrassed in front of very few people.”_

There are a lot of things that have happened since Danny moved to Hawaii that seem strange to him, but only in the way that they’re strange because he can’t imagine ever having done them in Jersey. Taking Grace to watch a magician who’s pulled Steve up to be his volunteer isn’t exactly strange. That is, it hadn’t been until the hypnosis came out and suddenly Steve’s shirtless on a stage and clucking like a chicken.

“I don’t have my video camera,” Danny bemoans, peering sideways to see that it doesn’t matter because Grace is already recording it for him. “I knew you were my favourite for a reason.”

By the time the act is finished, Grace has at least three videos of Steve doing embarrassing things that make Danny grateful they’ve gone to a magic act, despite the fact that he’d been stupidly against the idea in the first place.

That night, though, gives Danny an idea.

He buys a wand, a cape, and even some eyeliner, and then he makes sure Steve isn’t going anywhere for a while before he gets him alone. The videos have been backed up on the computer, but Danny feels like he’s got to give a little ridiculous in turn for the ridiculous he’d received. Which is why he locks the bedroom door behind Steve and swirls the cape he’s wearing, smirking as he settles one foot on the bed, poking the wand against Steve’s sadly clothed chest.

“If you tell me you paid the hypnotist to keep the programming in, I’m not gonna be surprised,” Steve warns, squirming slightly at the poke of the wand.

“Tempting as that had been, I kind of like you the way you are.” Danny steps back, pushing the cape back with both hands. “No, this is more about you getting even. You get a little embarrassed in front of a lot of people, so I figure maybe I should get a little embarrassed in front of very few people.”

Steve doesn’t even ask about the eyeliner, but he definitely notices it.

In fact, the way that Steve surges up, grabs Danny by the lapels, and hauls him down makes Danny wonder whether Steve has a thing for the eyeliner, the cape, or just magicians in general, but his mouth is too busy to really ask anything specific right this second. He fists both hands in the velvet of the cape, clearly admiring that Danny’s gone all out for this.

Which, Danny figures, if you’re gonna act like an idiot, you might as well go all the way.

“Want to see me make something appear?” he teases with a breathless laugh, wrapping a hand around Steve’s dick as he smirks, stroking until he’s roused into something a little more attentive than he’d been before.

It’s not something that either of them will admit, but maybe after that little play act, the both of them will never look at magic quite the same again.

“Does this mean I can get you to erase those videos Grace took?” Steve asks, when they’re exhausted and sweaty and Danny’s shed the cape to the floor.

Danny gives Steve a playful smirk. “You know you need way more leverage before you get that.”

Which is just an invitation for Steve to start working towards it, and they both know that very much.

It’s only a matter of time, after all.


	29. Sugar, Sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 29 - Doing Something Sweet
> 
> “Hey,” Danny protests, though he knows his shiver has nothing to do with the temperature he’s thinking about and all to do with Steve, “you’re gonna freeze it off. You want that? Huh?”

“Look, I know you think we haven’t spent enough time together recently, but this is kind of ridiculous,” Danny bitches as he puts on his apron and takes his place alongside the rest of the team, who have all been convinced to come to ice cream making classes because Steve thinks there’s something wrong with their team building.

To be fair, they could’ve been at some Navy obstacle course, but Danny had put his foot down on that one. Which is how they’ve wound up here, at a cooking class, with ice cream makers littered around the classroom and Steve grinning like the idiot he is.

“At least we’ll get some ice cream out of it?” Kono reasons with a shrug.

“And it’s almost as good as blowing something up,” Steve says. “Come on, Danny, this’ll be good for us.”

Danny’s not sure how a cooking class is even remotely team-building, but he goes ahead and gives in. Somehow, two hours later, this means giving in while Steve spoons ice cream against his tongue, sneaking into the back room with Danny to kiss it warm again after he’d complained that the ice of it was giving him freezer burn.

In fact, Steve seems plenty happy about team building when it involves pinning Danny up against the shelving, his wrists pinned above his head.

“Someone’s gonna notice we’re gone,” Danny breathlessly points out, even though there’s a part of him wondering why he’s being so idiotic as to point out something that will get them to stop. Steve steps back and assesses the situation, but shrugs when he doesn’t find a threat or whatever Steve actually thinks about the whole thing. “What, domestic cookery turn you on or something?”

Steve slides his knee in between Danny’s thighs and shrugs like it’s not a big deal. “I was thinking about eating the mint off your bare stomach,” he confesses, “or sucking the fudge chocolate off your dick.”

“Hey,” Danny protests, though he knows his shiver has nothing to do with the temperature he’s thinking about and all to do with Steve, “you’re gonna freeze it off. You want that? Huh?”

“I’d just have to warm you back up,” Steve reasons, nuzzling at Danny’s neck like they’re in private and like there isn’t a whole room of people just twenty feet away.

Danny remembers, though, because while Danny might be a hothead, he is the responsible one who’s gonna make sure the actual cops don’t get called in because some Five-0 idiots were caught fondling in the back room. He pries away from Steve and tries to push at him, laughing when Steve keeps trying to get back to him.

“Hey, Superman,” Danny chides. “You want Lou to walk in on this? I mean, really?”

“What, and you don’t care about Chin and Kono?”

“They expect this from you,” Danny replies. “Lou’s eyes are clean and fresh and haven’t walked in on us in multiple storage closets.” Which is true, because Chin and Kono have experienced this enough times that they aren’t fazed, but Lou is a new element to the team and Danny’s enjoying having someone who doesn’t know that he’s wrapped around Steve’s little finger.

He’s selfishly trying to hold onto that as long as he can. Because when Lou figures that out, it means that just about everyone on the island is going to know that Danny is completely weak for the man and while he’s not ashamed of it, it’s also not something he wants to start shouting.

“I’ll make sure we get some to take home,” Steve promises, leaving Danny with a dozen thoughts that are way too lurid for something like team-building and an eagerness to act on them.


	30. Hot, Hot Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 30 - Doing something hot
> 
> _“Steve, look, I know sometimes you’re all about distance, but it’s been five years almost,” she says, hitching Joan into her arms. “Are you gonna make a move on the guy or what?”_

“Hey, so should I get someone to watch Joan tomorrow?” Mary asks, as they pick up toys, snacks, and the other miscellany assorted with watching a baby. Steve glances up and gives her a confused look, not sure why she’d be asking that. “You know, for surfing with Danny?”

“Why can’t we bring Joan?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t want to interrupt your man-buddy surfing date,” she replies, dumping all the toys in the bin. “Plus, I’m not sure I want my kid to see your boyfriend’s rug of hair at so young an age. I’m pretty sure that’ll scar her.”

Steve stammers and flusters, cheeks pink, and Mary can’t help her delighted smirk as she keeps about her business.

“What?” she prods innocently.

“You know he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Really? You go on surfing dates, you don’t let anyone take him out unless you’re with him, only you’re allowed to buy him gifts, you get that weird look on your face when someone else mentions him, and you’re suspiciously shirtless a lot around him,” Mary feels inclined to point out. “But you’re not boyfriends?”

“We’re really good friends. And he has a girlfriend.”

Mary makes a humming sound.

“What?”

“He had a girlfriend,” Mary corrects, “who dumped him when Rachel started contacting him and Danny kept keeping it a secret.”

“And how do you know this?”

“We talk,” Mary says, given that her alliance with Danny has been one of the few things that doesn’t keep her worrying about Steve all the time. “Which is how I also know that he’s been asking me questions about what Catherine being back in town means for him.” She gives him a pointed look and all of a sudden, Steve feels like the younger sibling being taken to task. He’s not sure how the hell that happened, considering he swears he’d been in control only thirty seconds ago. “Steve, look, I know sometimes you’re all about distance, but it’s been five years almost,” she says, hitching Joan into her arms. “Are you gonna make a move on the guy or what?”

Steve sputters for an answer, not sure what the right one’s supposed to be.

“Just bring Joan,” he settles for saying.

Mary shrugs and lets the issue go.

At least, until the next day when it’s boiling hot and definitely over a hundred with the humidity. Steve is sweating, even though he’d shed his shirt ages ago, but it’s taken Danny nearly two hours to do the same. Which is pretty good, considering he’s been all about modesty with the baby nearby.

Steve tries not to sneak looks at Danny’s torso, but he’s failing considering that all he can notice is how much Danny seems to be working out lately, given the definition of his body. Mary’s words swim in his head and they stay there through the day, right up until the sun starts to set and the beach day is done. Still, they’re there with beers in hand, dug into the sand and relaxed.

Mary and Joan had gone home hours earlier, but Steve had stubbornly insisted they stay, unwilling to abandon this comfortable feeling just yet. 

“So are you gonna ask or what?”

“Ask what?” Steve ventures warily.

“Look, Steve, either you keep staring at me for another five years and we dance around the subject or maybe we finally _do_ something about it,” Danny says, shooting him a desperate look. “And call me crazy, but I kind of want to start something before I need a cane to get around.” 

Steve avoids looking at him, taking a long, deep gulp of beer instead. Inevitably, the long silence gets a little too uncomfortable. Silence from Danny is pretty much designed to do that.

Finally, Steve looks over at him. “I don’t want to screw this up, Danny,” he admits. “And starting something could be the first step before something ends.”

“Yeah, or we never even get around to trying,” Danny points out.

Steve knows that. It’s just getting his brain on board with it that’s the problem.

Danny huffs out a fond sigh, shaking his head. “I guess I gotta do everything myself, huh?” he says, and that’s all the warning that Steve gets before he’s got Danny climbing into his lap, making the steamy day even hotter for the way Danny grinds down into his lap, kissing Steve with what feels like five years of pent-up need.

By the time they’re done, Steve’s tugged them back onto the ground, laying flat as they let their hands explore like they’re kids again, and Steve’s grinning like an idiot.

“If we fuck it up, then we fuck it up,” Danny promises, beaming away. “I mean, I guess you could chase me to Australia.”

“Or I’ll just keep you here forever,” Steve insists instead, feeling light and _happy_ as he laughs and holds Danny close to him. “Permanent resident of Hawaii.”

“With you, babe? I think we could manage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end! Thanks to everyone for pitching along with me through the pauses, ups, downs, and I hope you've enjoyed all the way along! I've loved writing them and the challenge of it all!


End file.
